December 11, 2002	Wednesday	Shawwal 6, 1423

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DERA ISMAIL KHAN, Dec 10: Dozens of ghost schools were unearthed during a survey conducted by a group of newsmen from Media Centre.

Building of these government-owned schools, specially in rural areas of this district, are being used as godowns, chowks (guest houses) and stables.

Mostly, these buildings were constructed out of funds provided by the World Bank, but are in the illegal occupation and personal use of influential people like lumberdars or landlords of the respective areas.

While sitting at their homes and paying a proportionate share out of their salaries, a number of teachers are getting their salaries regularly and those who are responsible for monitoring and assessing the equational activities in educational institutes, claim their travelling and daily allowances through their so-called tours without paying a single visit to these school even once in a year.

During the said survey, it became obvious that more than 70 per cent schools in Katcha area (the bed of River Indus), were defunct; teachers  were either absent or serving with  some  other institutions in private or public sectors or were running their own businesses and had never attended their schools.

Not a single visit was found recorded by inspecting officers in school’s inspection books (known as log book) during a full academic year.

It was revealed that even annual inspections to these schools were recorded by the inspecting officers in the respective log books while sitting in their offices and without assessment of the teacher’s performance.

When a senior education officer was contacted he was unable to tell the locations of various schools under his control.