July 18, 2006	Tuesday	Jumadi-ul-Sani 21, 1427

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PESHAWAR, July 17: Lack of basic amenities, political interference in the affairs of educational institutions and the problem of absentee teachers have severely affected the performance of the education department in the tribal areas.

This was stated by education officials and teachers from various districts of the NWFP and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas at a consultative meeting with a National Education Policy review team led by Javed Hassan Aly.

Provincial Education Minister Maulana Fazl-i-Ali stressed the need to highlight Muslim identity in various policies.

South Waziristan Agency Education Officer Haji Gul Rehman said the law and order situation in the area had made it difficult for teachers and education officials to perform their duty.

There were 524 schools with 49,000 students in Waziristan but no education inspector could visit a school in a government vehicle, he said.

“The education inspectors have to hire taxis to visit schools. In such a situation how can women teachers appointed in remote areas work,” he said.

A peaceful environment, security and basic facilities were needed to implement any education policy, Orakzai Agency Education Officer Ali Shah said.

While the education officials from the NWFP recommended that mother tongue should be the medium of instruction at primary level, those from Fata were of the view that English should be the medium of instruction.

They also discussed the problems of security and lack of access to schools in the tribal areas.

The participants proposed that basic facilities should be provided to schools for better implementation of the policy.

Non-formal education should be institutionalised and books, teachers and buildings should be provided for the purpose, they said.

They said the syllabus for non-formal education should be concise and skill development should be its part.

Some participants stressed the need for use of modern teaching techniques and teachers’ training.

The committee’s member Bushra Zulfiqar Ali said the process of reviewing the policy would be completed in two months.