PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government’s notification about renaming of the government schools after the slain students of Army Public School (APS), Peshawar, has drawn a positive response from the parents some of whom say it would help in keeping the memories and sacrifices of their children alive.

Through a notification issued on Thursday night, the Elementary and Secondary Education (E&SE) Department has named 107 schools after the slain students, which was one the demands made by the parents.

The department has also prepared another notification to be issued by the district administration, Peshawar, in which two roads, including Eidgah and Dalazak roads, Haji Camp Children Hospital and Faqirabad flyover would be named after the students, according to sources. They said that the notification would be issued by the district administration because it was not the domain of the education department.

Besides, the government has also named The Frontier College for Women after the slain APS principal Tahira Qazi.

Shuhada forum says govt should rename schools agreed upon

When contacted, spokesman for the Ghazi Shuhada Forum Ibrar Ahmed appreciated the government for renaming the schools after the former APS students. However, he said that confusion had been created among the parents as the government had not renamed those schools that were agreed upon by the parents and officials concerned.

In this connection, he said that the forum representatives would meet the commissioner, Peshawar Division, and E&SE secretary to sort out the issue. “The judicial inquiry into the massacre, which is one of our main demands, is yet to be conducted,” he said.

“This is momentous,” Mohammad Tufail, whose 15-year-old son Sher Shah was amongst those killed, told Dawn. The authorities have renamed a school after his 10th grade son in their native Dag Ismailkhel village in Peshawar’s neighbouring district of Nowshera.

“Naming an educational institution after the victims will help keep their memories alive,” Mr Tufail said, adding that the tragedy changed the direction of the country in combating terrorism.

“This is a befitting tribute to the great sacrifice these students have made for the nation and the children’s right to education,” he said.

According to the notification, 62 schools would be named after the APS students, which included 10 in Charsadda, four each in Mardan and Swabi, three in Malakand, two in Abbottabad, two in Karak and one in Dir besides others.

Published in Dawn, March 7th, 2015

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