SHANGLA: Students of the government high school for boys, Amnavi, here will again sit under the open sky when schools reopen in Shangla district on Feb 24 after the winter vacations.

“When it rains, water seeps through the tattered tents erected at the demolished high school,” Sahibul Haq, principal of the school, told Dawn. He asked how the students and teachers could conduct education activities in such a miserable situation.

“I have written several times to the education department and district administration to initiate work on the school, but got no response,” he regretted. Built in 1996 the high school had developed big cracks as a result of 2005 earthquake and it was demolished in 2010 after the Earthquake Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Authority (Erra) declared it unsafe for students.

The students and their parents have staged protest demonstrations against the delay in reconstruction of the school. They have also been demanding appointment of teachers as 11 of 14 posts of the teaching staff are vacant.

They said that strength of the students in the GHS Amnavi had shrunk from 400 to 200 due to unavailability of proper school building and shortage of teachers.

Aurang Zeb, an official of the planning and development department, told this correspondent that about 204 schools were demolished when Erra declared them unsafe for students after the 2005 earthquake. He said that 29 schools were damaged due to floods in 2010 and nine others were destroyed during militancy in Shangla district. He said that of them 103 schools had been rebuilt so far and work on the remaining was not yet started.

He said that now the Provincial Disaster Management Authority had handed over contract of reconstruction of schools to PARSA and work would start on the remaining buildings soon. He claimed that work on GHS Amnavi would start in March.

The school principal said that the number of students decreased to 200 as they had either quit education and went to labour in coalmines or migrated to other schools in the district. He said that Amnavi received four feet snow this season and the schools here would reopen from next week.

Azad Khan, a grade 9th student, said that he come to GHS Amnavi from a remote area in routine. However, he said that the students could not manage to reach school and continue study during rain and snowfall under the old tents.

Saeed Fareeen, a local elder, said that they had raised the school issue in meetings with the commissioner Malakand, deputy commissioner Shangla and Erra officials, but work could not be started as yet. He regretted that the elected representatives had also failed to raise voice in this regard.

Published in Dawn, February 18th, 2016