PESHAWAR, Dec 23: Residents of a remote village in Kurram Agency have criticized the government for not providing teaching staff for a girls' school established two years ago.

Girls of Balishkhel, a remote village in Sadda tehsil of Kurram Agency, had to travel to far off villages to acquire education despite the fact the school was established for them two years back, some residents who visited the Dawn office on Thursday said.

With the request not to be named, they said the building for the girls' school in Balishkhel, the village of approximately 200 houses, was completed two years ago, but the authorities concerned did not provide any teacher to make it functional.

"The girls either go to schools in Sameer village or Sadda, far off from Balishkhel," said one of the residents. For the Sameer Girls High School, every student spent Rs20 per day as bus fare from their village. While those students who opted to acquire education in Sadda area had to spend Rs25, the Balishkhel residents said.

They maintained that most of the people in Balishkhel village were poor and could hardly afford to send their children to the schools in Sameer or Sadda. The female literacy ratio was not increasing due to these reasons, they commented. If the government immediately sent the staff and made the girls' school functional by coming March, their upcoming educational session would be saved, they added.