LAHORE: The Punjab School Education Department (SED) has failed to install water filtration plants at 100 schools of Lahore despite allocation of funds worth Rs50m in the last year’s budget.

The District Education Authority was provided Rs50m to install filtration plants in the primary, middle and high schools; however, the authority did not execute the project.

The authority had issued tenders for the project but the DEA’s former chief executive officer (CEO) cancelled the tenders, sources say, adding that the funds would lapse if the project is not completed in the current fiscal year.

A teacher of a public school in the City division, on condition of anonymity, tells Dawn there are no clean drinking facilities in their schools and they have to bring water from a nearby filtration plant. He says the students drink tap water, which is contaminated as the water supply lines have not been upgraded for the last many years.

Complaining that the government wants to increase enrollment in public schools where it has not provided the basic facilities, he suggests that it should focus on provision of basic facilities in schools which would increase enrollment too.

DEA CEO Pervaiz Akhtar says the tenders will again be issued and the filtration plants project will be completed within the stipulated time.

Meanwhile, the Hilal-e-Ahmer Foundation has provided first aid kits to 20 public schools in the city.

Published in Dawn, February 9th, 2022