KHAR: People of Barang tehsil here on Monday complained that thousands of students had been attending schools without textbooks since start of the new academic session in April as the education department had failed to provide the same to their children.

Talking to Dawn, they claimed that officials of local education department had announced to distribute free textbooks to students in the region from April, but the commitment was not honoured.

They accused the education officials of discriminating against the remote Barang tribe.

“While distribution of free textbooks has been started in the agency several weeks ago, students of Barang are still deprived of the same,” said Bakaht Khan, a local tribesman.

The unavailability of textbooks to students is a matter of serious concern for us because it will hurt students’ passion for education, said Malik Ajdar Khan.

The people of Barang said that they had also approached the officials of local administration on the matter, but to no effect. They demanded of the director education, Fata secretariat, local administration and other offi cials concerned to take the matter seriously and ensure early provision of books to students.

When contacted, a senior official in the local education department in Khar, admitted to Dawn the delay in provision of free textbooks to students in some areas of Barang tehsil.

However, he said that provision of books to students across the agency would be completed soon.

GOVERNOR’S VISIT CANCELLED: Poor weather conditions forced the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Sardar Mahtab Ahmed Khan to cancel his planned visit to Bajaur Agency on Monday.

An official of the local administration told Dawn here that Mehtab Ahmed’s scheduled visit to Bajaur on Monday was cancelled due to bad weather conditions.

The official said the visit had been scheduled for the last several days in which the governor was to address a grand jirga of tribal elders in Khar.

Sources said the administration had finalised all necessary arrangements for the governor’s trip, including taking strict security measures, and organising a luncheon for him, but unfortunately the visit was cancelled at the eleventh hour much to their dismay.

Published in Dawn, April 28th, 2015

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