SIALKOT, Nov 8: The education department has taken no steps to repair the buildings of six girls primary schools in bordering villages Bajwat, Papeen, Jog, Khanu Bhau, Beli Minhaasa, Bheince and Ghazipur.

These schools had already been closed due to unavailability of teaching staff and dilapidating condition of the buildings. The buildings of these schools were badly damaged by the Oct 8 earthquake.

It seems the quake had given the department an opportunity to close down these schools permanently.

These schools had been established in the reign of the then prime minister Muhammad Khan Junejo. Since their establishment, they were facing shortage of staff due to negligence and lack of interest of the local politicians.

Meanwhile, students have been studying in the classrooms of 47 schools (41 boys and six girls) whose buildings have been declared dangerous by the authorities concerned. They have advised the management of these schools to evacuate these buildings and shift to safe buildings.

The education department high-ups pay no heed to repeated complaints by the students, teachers and their parents in this regard.

A number of teachers and students of various schools told this correspondent on Tuesday that they were forced to get education under the cracked roofs and walls of the buildings.

They said these buildings could collapse any time causing loss of life.

Parents of many students and teachers have also expressed grave concern over this critical situation and urged the federal, provincial and district governments to take notice of the situation and shift these schools to new buildings.

EDO: Sialkot EDO (education) Dr Saifullah Cheema said the education and buildings departments jointly conducted a survey of all the government educational institutions in the district to assess the damage caused by the earthquake. He said the buildings of 168 government educational institutions, including primary, elementary and high schools, were damaged. Of them 47 buildings have been declared dangerous.