MINGORA, Sept 11: Two more dengue patients died at Saidu Group of Teaching Hospital on Wednesday.

Earlier, the mosquito-borne disease had claimed six lives in Swat district.

According to Dr Wasil Khan, focal person for dengue emergency unit at SGTH, both were local residents, one Mohammad Hussain, 48, of Tahirabad area, and Ghazala, 22, of Kumbadmera area.

He said earlier, six dengue patients, including Rabiat of Haji Baba, Hayat Hussain of Rehmanabad, Sabir of Manglawar, Begum, Momin Khan and Taj Bibi, had died at the hospital. Dr Wasil, however, claimed only two of them had died of dengue.

He said 101 more residents of Swat district had tested positive for dengue in the day.

The focal person for dengue emergency unit said the number of dengue patients in the district had reached 2,727.

He said a total of 1,784 dengue patients had so far been admitted to the hospital, while 1,375 of them were discharged after preliminary treatment.

Dr Wasil said currently, there were only 250 dengue patients at various wards of the hospital and they included 148 men, 93 women and nine children.

He said 69 more dengue patients were discharged from the hospital in the day.

“Of the seven critical patients, one has been shifted to Lady Reading Hospital in Peshawar,” he said.

The focal person for dengue emergency unit said the hospital administration was planning to increase the number of beds to 10 at ICU due to the severity of the situation.

Meanwhile, educationist Prof Maqsood Alam Bukhari on Wednesday said a nation could development and prosperity only by introducing a uniform education system.

He was addressing a seminar on “literacy is a tool for personal emancipation’ organised by University of Swat to mark the International Literacy Day.

The seminar was attended by students and faculty members of the university.

Professor Bukhari, dean faculty of social sciences of Foundation University, Islamabad, said Pakistan had made just 35 per cent improvement in the country’s literacy rate and that in 1947, the literacy rate was 17 per cent, which had increased to 50-60 per cent.

He said Pakistan would achieve 100 per cent literacy rate in the next 80 years if it continued with its journey at the current speed.

Professor Bukhari said there was injustice in education system and society, adding that injustice should be addressed as it had broadened the gap between the poor and the rich in the country.

“The landlords or the elite class of society are deliberately keeping away the poor from getting education. Uniform education system could be a great help in this respect,” he said.

The educationist said every citizen should have the right to education and literacy was the first step toward education.

On the occasion, Mehboobur Rehman, registrar at University of Swat, said the nation could survive through better education.

He said the ideal environment at home was necessary for children to get proper education.