BALAKOT, Dec 4: The four-storey building of a private educational institution here, which had been reduced to rubble in the devastating Oct 8 earthquake, burying alive about 300 students, now imparts education to only 50 children in tents.

With most students still traumatized and recalling the horror quake and their deceased friends, the school has been facing multiple problems.

The Shaheen Model School and College of Commerce, affiliated with the Lahore Comsats University, was once a known and prestigious educational institution here in the Nara Area. The calamity turned the Balakot tehsil of Mansehra district into a ghost town, with ruined buildings and piles of debris scattered all around. The school was no exception.

Students now studying there in tents said that most surviving students had either left the area or the school.

“All those familiar faces have vanished. Even five of our female teachers are no longer with us,” said Adeel Ahmad, a student of 8th class in the school.

Adeel was a boarder in the school. About two weeks ago, 10 tents were pitched in the area by the school administrator with the support of the university and one of the tents has been converted into a hostel. Adeel has been residing in that tent.

As tents are not winterized, it would be difficult to cope with the harsh weather.

Adeel said his classroom was on the top floor and he had also got stuck in the rubble for many hours. “About 300 out of the 560 students of the institution got killed and numerous others suffered injuries,” he said.

He said that they had been facing problems in the new setup as they lacked books and stationery. He added that no help was extended to them by the government or international agencies in acquiring education. However, a local NGO, Khairun Nass, had provided them with some books and helped them in setting up the tent school.

Another student, Bilal Khan, studying in 8th class, echoed the same views, stating that although they had been attending the school, they were faced with teacher shortage.

Farhad Hussain, a student of Government Middle School, Nara, said that he had left his school for good and was now studying at Shaheen School. A student of class four, Farhad said the middle school was also set up in tents.

“When students visit the school for attending classes, the teachers often engage them in removing the debris,” he said.

“I was caught in the debris for more than an hour and there were cries and screams of students all around,” he added. Of the 120 students of the middle school, 20 got killed while 60 others suffered injuries.

Fondly remembering five of his fellow students — Alvena, Irum, Adnan, Hasnain and Jawed, — Adeel said it was difficult for him and other survivors to adjust to the harsh reality. “As piles of debris and rubble of fallen buildings are spread across the town, it has become almost impossible for us to come to terms with the new life,” he said.

He informed that after the quake, their director, Tabbaruk Ahmad, had shifted to Abbottabad and was reluctant to re-open the school.