HARIPUR, Aug 26: Officials of Abbottabad and Mansehra districts have not yet handed over the administrative control of 41 primary schools located in union councils which were given to the Haripur district in 1991 , resulting in a tug-of-war between the three districts, officials say.

Most of these schools, naib nazim of the Ladarmang union council said, remained closed for the past three years. These institutions, including 31 government primary schools for girls and 10 schools for boys, are still being administratively controlled by Abbottabad and Mansehra districts.

When the status of Haripur, a former tehsil of the Abbottabad district, was upgraded to district in 1991, five union councils from district Abbottabad and 14 villages from district Mansehra, were formally annexed to the newly-carved district.

The director of primary school education, Peshawar, had sent a letter to the then district officers of Abbottabad, Mansehra and Haripur districts and informed them that since these union councils and villages had been handed over to Haripur district, the administrative charge of 53 public schools, including 32 government primary schools and 21 government mosque primary schools with a total staff of 82 teachers, was being given to Haripur.

The charge of 30 government primary schools for girls in Abbottabad, 10 schools for boys and one school for girls in Mansehra was still not handed over to the EDO education Haripur.

Education authorities of Abbottabad and Mansehra were still reluctant about relinquishing their hold on these schools despite repeated efforts by Haripur education officials. Education authorities in Peshawar were also not releasing budget to Haripur for these schools.

Malik Mohammad Hanif, naib nazim of the Ladarmang union council blamed the education department for the delay in the transfer of these schools to Haripur and said that their reluctance was illogical after the formation of the new district.