MIANWALI: A government primary school with 82 students has only one teacher, who also serves as headmaster, to cater to the needs of all the classes.

Govt Primary Boys School is located in Dhup Sari near Mooch Town, 30 kilometre from here on the left bank of the Indus. Besides the lack of teachers, the school does not even have basic facilities such as drinking water, furniture and toilets to name a few, while the building is also in a deplorable condition.

The school falls in the NA-95 constituency of Prime Minister Imran Khan and his rivals in the area mock that the premier has no time to look into the affairs of his home district that is in dire need of proper educational institutes.

82-student school in Imran’s constituency lacks even basic facilities

Younas Khan of Dhup Sari told Dawn that his two sons studied at the school that had no teachers. He lamented that he lived in the constituency of Prime Minister Imran Khan, yet was facing difficulty in educating his children.

He claimed that government primary schools in the surrounding areas were also facing the same problems, as the “strong teacher mafia” got itself posted to places of its choice and was reluctant to serve in such underdeveloped areas.

School headmaster Rehmatullah Khan told Dawn that despite his repeated requests to the high-ups to solve the school’s problems, there has been no response yet.

Narrating the issues plaguing his school, he said that in 2017 the then government had shifted 152 state-run schools in the district to the jurisdiction of Punjab Education Foundation, including his school. The move was challenged in the Lahore High Court and many of the schools were moved back to the district education department.

He further said the school was running successfully with five teachers and 185 students, but suddenly all of the teachers, except him, were transferred without any reason. Resultantly, parents stopped sending their children to the school that now had 82 students enrolled here.

Mr Khan said the education department had even stopped non-salary budget to the school for nine months. The fund worth Rs1,000 per student being paid in four installments annually was provided to the school to meet its daily expenses. The absence of these funds has created a financial crisis, as he could not get the hand pump repaired to provide drinking water to students, furniture refurbished or meet any other emergency needs of the school.

Education authority chief Riaz Qadeer told Dawn that he will look into matter and vowed that teachers would be posted at the school within a week.

Published in Dawn, October 3rd , 2018