LANDI KOTAL: The management of a government girls high school in Sadda town of Lower Kurram have imposed monthly fee on students from 6th grade to 10th to pay monthly salaries to the teachers, it has engaged from private sector to compensate for prolonged shortage of teaching staff at the only girls high school in the region.

Established in 1978 and later upgraded to secondary level in 1992, the school is awaiting appointment of physics, chemistry, mathematics and biology teachers since long.

The posts of two general and one science teachers have also been vacant at the school for the last three years.

Principal has hired teachers from private sector

The students were made to sit idle in their classes for want of teachers and at least 45 periods of different subjects would go unattended every day prior to hiring of some teachers from the private sector. Now the students pay the salaries of those teachers from their pocket money.

Sources in the local political administration and local agency education office said that the situation further compounded when the administration stopped payment of salaries to the women teachers that was being paid from so-called Agency Development Fund (ADF).

The ADF was abruptly suspended after the tribal areas were merged with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in May this year. Subsequently the salaries of women teachers in all the government schools, hired on ad hoc basis due to shortage of teaching staff, were also stopped.

At present the Sadda girls school management pays Rs12,000 to at least three science and a mathematics teachers, whose services have been acquired on ad hoc basis. The students of 8th, 9th and 10th grades pay for their salaries.

Another five teachers engaged to teach 7th and 6th graders are paid Rs5,000 per month as salary. Regular laws do not permit for charging students for any purpose in the government schools.

Abida Dilnasheen, the principal of the school, said that she faced resistance from parents and was criticised by some activists of civil society and local elders for imposing tuition fee on students in violation of the official rules.

She said that all types of allegations were levelled against her regarding misappropriation of funds collected in the name of teacher salaries but she stood firm as provision of quality education and overcoming the shortage of teachers at the school was her top priority.

Ms Dilnasheen said that she brought the issue of teaching staff deficiency into the notice of not only the senior officials of education at Fata Secretariat but also held meeting with local elders, politicians and parents.

She said that she faced undue criticism rather than help in overcoming the shortage of teaching staff. None of the elected member from Kurram had ever visited the school, she added.

The students also complained about shortage of drinking water, transport facility and prolonged power load shedding.

Published in Dawn, September 27th, 2018