SWAT: The students of a high school for girls have said that they have to get education under the open sky since their school building in Langar area of Khwazakhela was taken over by the army in 2016.

They say that they were shifted by the administration to a primary school in the area, which is short of facilities including classrooms, a laboratory and a library.

Presently, 1,123 students get education in eight classrooms of the school. “We don’t have a room and we sit on the ground under the open sky. It is severe cold nowadays. At least, the government should construct new rooms for us so that we can sit inside in the cold weather,” a seventh grader told Dawn.

There are more than 450 students in 9th and 10th grades. Owing to shortage of rooms, two sections have to attend classes in a single room.

“We cannot even hear our teachers’ voice as there are about 80 girls in one room. Many girls have quit education,” said a 10th grader. She said they went home without attending classes in case of rain and bad weather.

Khwazakhela high school was taken over by army in 2016

The students said that there was no furniture, laboratory and library in the school. “We want to conduct experiments and learn physics, chemistry and biology, but we don’t have a laboratory,” they said.

According to the district education department, the number of girl students of primary level is about 37,000 in Khwazakhela but only 1,000 of them manage to reach high school and the rest of them have to quit education.

The district education officer, Fazal Khaliq, when contacted, said that in 2016, the high school girls were shifted to the primary school. He added that boys were attending classes in only three of the rooms while the rest were given the girl students.

“We have allowed the girls to sit in the building of boys’ primary school, but it is not a permanent solution. The girls need their school where they can get education without any hurdle,” he added.

The residents of Khwazakhela demanded of the government to construct a high school for girls immediately, otherwise, they threatened, they would take to streets.

Published in Dawn, December 19th, 2022