MINGORA: The one-room school with dilapidated roof and only two teachers for over 200 students in Chuangai village of Charbagh tehsil here speaks volumes about the tall claims of the PTI-led government that it has turned around the education infrastructure in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Located at a distance of 30 kilometers from Mingora town, the government primary school was established in 1979 in Chungai Roraiya village, but no government bothered to construct a proper building for it. The land for the mud-and-stone-built room was provided by a local resident.

Head teacher Rehmat Ali said they faced difficulty in handling such a large number of students, adding during rains it was difficult to run the classes.

The students said they were afraid of sitting in the dilapidated room as it was on the verge of collapse. “We usually sit on the roof of a nearby mosque, but when it rains some classes are taken in the room. Small pieces of mud and stones fall on us and the roof starts leaking whenever it rains,” said Mohammad Shah, a grade four student.

Yaqoob Khan, another student, said most often they had to take classes sitting on the roof of the mosque. He said some students were injured when a sign board of the mosque fell on them owing to strong winds.

Yaqoob lamented that while schools in cities had proper and spacious buildings with all the required facilities, schools in villages were in bad shape.

It is to mention here that there is no middle or high school in the area for both the girls and boys, and the nearest middle school is at a distance of about five kilometres from the village.

“We are poor people and cannot afford to send our girls to the nearest middle or high school as the two-way fare consumes Rs100,” Sharif Khan, a local, regretted.

Mohammad Kamal, a youth councillor of the village, said candidates of every political party promised to construct the school building, but after being elected they forgot their promise, and even did not bother to visit the area.

“This time, we were sure that the PTI government will construct the school building for our children, but nothing happened,” he deplored.

The students appealed to PTI chief Imran Khan to direct the provincial government to rebuild the primary school.

The local MPA Dr Haider Ali Khan could not be contacted as he is out of the country.

Published in Dawn, March 22nd, 2017