KOHAT: Over 60 girls’ primary schools in the Orakzai tribal district are functioning with a single teacher.

A local education department official, Nabeela Naz told Dawn on contact that most schools in the lower Orakzai area of Darra Cham were with only one teacher.

She said that even teachers from these schools were assigned the job of running the vaccination drive against measles and rubella.

A tribesman, Malik Farhan said a local school had two posts of teachers, but one of them had been absent for last five years.

He said the students had been protesting shortage of teachers, but to no effect.

Tribesmen Malik Mehboob and Malik Wali Jan said the Chappar Mishti girls primary school was constructed in 2010, but had since been non-functional.

They derided the local lawmakers and the education department for not taking any interest in ensuring the required number of teachers in schools.

They said the poor parents could not afford to send their children to schools in other areas.

COILS STOLEN: Unknown thieves stole coils from a transformer in Gumbat tehsil on Saturday night.

The police said the thieves first brought down the heavy transformer set on two supporting poles, dismantled it and after flushing out the oil took away coils from it.

They said keeping in view the nature of the crime it seemed the handiwork of more than four people equipped with an iron chain and a vehicle as they first removed the links to suspend electricity supply from the line to it.

The police registered a case against unidentified thieves and started investigations.

Published in Dawn, November 29th, 2021