15 May 2004	Saturday	24 Rabi-ul-Awwal 1425

VEHARI, May 14: Mismanagement, political interference and official neglect reign supreme at the Government Model High School, the oldest and the largest educational institution of the Vehari district.

Established in 1927 as a primary school, the academic activities of the institution has now badly affected mainly due to the indulgence of the teaching staff in politics and for want of required funds.

Located right in the centre of town, the school had been upgraded to middle level in 1939 and secondary in 1944. Over the years, hundreds of its students have joined civil services, medicine, engineering, sport and other professions.

Covering an area of 128 kanals, the school has two sections. The primary section comprises 17 rooms while the high section 38. The total strength of teachers is 93 with 2,200 students on rolls. Out of them, now 1,500 students are without the facility of furniture.

In 1985, the 4,000 students were on rolls, reflecting a sharp decline in the standard of the school.

The building of the primary section has long been declared dangerous which is a permanent threat to the lives of students and teachers. Moreover, the school has no science laboratory, computer lab and common room.

Till 1985, the affairs of the school had been running quite smooth. After that the political consideration had been the main criteria for the appointment of the headmaster which has made the things worst. However, at the turn of the 80's, the school touched great heights during the period of headmaster Khan Mehdi Hasan Khan. With his retirement, the standard started declining swiftly due to the weak control of the administrative head over its teaching staff.

At present, headmaster Muhammad Mansha Saleemi has reportedly interested only in saving his office instead of improving the standard of the school.

Most of the teachers have formed groups and are busy in hatching conspiracies against each other instead of taking interest in teaching. Students preparing for the BISE and scholarship examinations are the worst-sufferers.

The pro-headmaster staff often remain present in his office to devise ways to let the opponent group down. Reportedly, the headmaster enjoys the support of the ruling party. The group of teachers opponent to the headmaster sits in a separate room.

The infighting among the teachers has greatly affected the overall academic performance of the students. The academic graph of the school, already on the decline, has reached at its low.

The pro-headmaster staff spend most of their time in the Tehsil or District Nazim offices during duty hours, but they are marked present in the official register.

In the recently held bypolls of union council Nazim, Naib Nazim and councillors, they remained busy for the election campaign of the ruling party candidates. But, no action was taken against them by the Education authority. Even the posting and transfers of the teachers are reportedly made on the recommendations of the ruling party representatives.

When contacted, the headmaster denied the charges against him. However, he came clean that the school was short of required funds, teaching staff, furniture and other basic facilities due to the negligence of the Education department.

Neither the Education department nor the district and tehsil governments provided any funds for the maintenance of the school building, he said.

Recently, Punjab chief minister Pervaiz Elahi visited Vehari and announced millions of rupees for uplift projects, but ignored altogether the school.

According to the headmaster, about Rs3 million are required for the construction and repair of the primary section building and Rs2.5 million for the repair and purchase of furniture.

He said the district and tehsil governments had recently announced Rs5 million for the cycle stand and repair of the tubewell. But, the funds announced has not so far been released.

Social circle and parents of the students have called upon the government and the Education authority to set aside required funds in the budget for the provision of basic facilities and repair of the school building. They have also urged the authorities concerned to take action against the teachers involved in politics.