MINGORA/TIMERGARA: Schools reopened in Swat and Lower Districts on Saturday after nearly three months of being closed owing to fighting between the military and militants.
However, attendance on the first day was low because of the closure of roads and shortage of transport.
Classes in several schools of Mingora were held in tents because their buildings had been damaged in the operation.
Residents said that Mingora was the only town in Swat where schools were reopened. Majority of the schools were being used as IDP camps, they added.
A large number of schools in upper and lower parts of Swat have either been blown up or set on fire by the Taliban. The rest are being used by security forces.
Private Schools Management Association president Ziauddin Yousafzai has announced waiver of fees for the past three months.
Schools in Lower Dir, except the Maidan tehsil, also reopened on Saturday. Some of the schools in the district remained closed because of the presence of IDPs there.
An elderly member of a displaced family living in a government girls’ school in Talash told Dawn that he was worried about the future of his children.
‘We had a good time living in the school. We can neither go back to our home nor has the government made any alternative arrangement for us. Where will we go now?’ he wondered.
AFP adds: NWFP Education Minister Qazi Asad said that all schools in Malakand division were open.
He said that about 356 schools had been damaged during the Taliban insurgency and the authorities were working on an emergency plan to rebuild or hire private buildings.
‘Tents have been provided to hold classes temporarily,’ he said.
Fazal Aziz, the principal a government school in Mingora, said: ‘There is no electricity, water and other facilities and it is hard to keep students in tents for a long time in hot weather.’
No comments:
Post a Comment