KHYBER: The dilapidated condition of an over a century-old primary school in Landi Kotal forced the parents and owner of the land to close the building for safety of more than 300 students.

Situated in Malak Gul Ahmad Kallay in Neekkhel area of Landi Kotal, the building of the school started developing cracks while roofs of at least four classrooms started leaking profusely during rains in the recent months due to poor maintenance.

Malak Abdur Razzaq Afridi, owner of the land on which the school was constructed, told Dawn that officials of the education department were repeatedly informed about the condition of the school building but to no avail.

He said that six teachers of the school and most of the parents were concerned about the safety of the children. They were compelled to take the extreme step of ‘shutting’ the school for fear of sudden collapse, he added.

Officials say they are trying to get funds for its repair

Local sources said that initially a one-room primary school was opened at the hujra of late Malak Gul Ahmad in 1905. Later a formal building was constructed adjacent to the hujra in 1953 after the creation of Pakistan as the number of students increased.

They said that normally a primary school in tribal areas had only two rooms whereas the said school had the distinction of having five classrooms, a servant quarter and two more rooms for the local education officials.

Malak Abdur Razzaq Afridi said that the school remained open during the times of militancy from 2005 to 2014 despite the fact that terrorists twice tried to target it with bombs. He added that the bids were foiled by his family members.

He, however, regretted that lack of maintenance and official apathy forced the closure of a historic institution, which could have otherwise been preserved as a relic of the British-era.

Local education officials, when approached, said that they paid several visits to the school and tried to persuade the landowner and parents not to stop students from coming to school but in vain.

They said that they were trying to secure Rs3 million for immediate repair of the affected portions of the school so that the building could be reopened for students. “Later a comprehensive reconstruction of the entire building will be carried out, once the required funds are procured,” they added.

Published in Dawn, June 9th, 2021