KARACHI, Oct 25: The Islami Jamiat-i-Talaba on Tuesday announced to set up at least 10 secondary “tent schools” in earthquake devastated areas and said it would impart education to 3,000 students of Class 9th and 10th.

Addressing a press conference at Karachi Press Club, IJT Karachi Nazim Tahir Akbar along with Amir Ashraf and Syed Abdur Rasheed said in addition to loss of lives and personal properties, thousands of schools and colleges in earthquake-hit areas had also been destroyed.

“There are thousands of students whose schools and college buildings have been destroyed and teachers died in the earthquake. Keeping in view these circumstances, IJT has decided to set up 10 tent schools in Muzaffarabad, Bagh, Rawlakot, Mansehra, Abbotabad and other quake-hit areas,” they said.

They said initially these schools would be set up only for students of 9th and 10th classes and in the later phase, more schools for lower and higher classes would be established. Crash courses for students would also be arranged by the IJT to save their academic careers, they added.

According to IJT office-bearers, each tent school would cost over Rs100,000 where all enrolled students would be provided books, stationary, uniform and all other requirements and they would not have to spend a rupee for acquiring education.

“There would be some students who don’t have even any place to live. Such students would also be given residential facilities,” they said and appealed well-to-do people to donate generously for establishment of these schools.

They also appealed graduate students and teachers to volunteer their services at least for one month for these tent schools,

IJT office-bearers said on the directives of IJT central consultative council, an “Eid Karavan” comprising hundreds of IJT workers would start their journey from Karachi and reach quake-hit areas to spend their Eid with the affected families.

They said IJT workers would not only offer Eid prayers with quake-affected people but would also spend the whole day in quake-devastated areas and present Eid gifts to children. They appealed Karachiites to donate presents, gifts and cash for distribution among the quake-hit children of Kashmir and the NWFP.

Meanwhile, former city nazim and the relief coordinator of Al-Khidmat Welfare Society, Niamatullah Khan, on Tuesday said that Jamaat-i-Islami and Al-Khidmat Welfare Society would collect funds in the last 10 days of Ramazan and on the day of Eid-ul-Fitr for helping the victims of earthquake.

Talking to volunteers at the main relief camp of Al-Khidmat Welfare Society at Idara Noor-i-Haq, he asked JI workers and Al-Khidmat volunteers to make the funds collection campaign successful and also appealed traders, industrialists, citizens and shopkeepers to donate generously for quake victims.—PPI