PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court on Thursday directed the provincial finance secretary to release funds required by the education department to provide the missing facilities, including furniture, to government schools in the merged tribal districts of the province.

A bench consisting of Chief Justice Qaiser Rashid Khan and Justice Ijaz Anwar observed that several schools in those areas had long been in dilapidated condition and lacked basic facilities, including furniture.

It ordered the finance department to ensure the release of those funds within 15 days for the early resolution of the schoolchildren’s problems.

The bench issued the orders during the hearing into a petition filed by Subhanuddin, a resident of Mohmand tribal district, who sought orders for the education department to improve learning conditions in a government middle school of his area.

Sets 15 days deadline for release of money

The petitioner said that the school building hadn’t undergone maintenance for many years, so it was in a bad shape.

He feared that the building would collapse anytime harming minor students.

The petitioner claimed that the school also lacked basic amenities, especially furniture for the students.

Additional advocate general Syed Sikandar Hayat Shah and Mohmand district education officer education (male) Liaquat Ali appeared before the bench.

The EDO insisted that he recently visited the school and found the building to be in a bad shape. He said the education department was making arrangements to provide an alternate place to the children for learning.

Mr Ali said around Rs1 million funds available in the school’s fund would be used to build two rooms.

The chief justice wondered who would be responsible if the ramshackle school building collapsed injuring students or staff members.

The Khyber DEO (female) also appeared before the court and said she visited a government middle school in Loe Shalman area as ordered by the court and found it to be without furniture to the misery of students.

She said a tender had been issued for the provision of furniture to that school.

On the court’s notice, education secretary Mohtasim Billah Shah and finance secretary Mohammad Ayaz turned up.

The education secretary assured the court that furniture would be provided to Khyber district’s school within a day.

He said that the department had already issued a tender for the provision of furniture to all schools in the merged tribal districts as per their requirement.

Mr Shah, however, said that the department faced problems due to the shortage of funds.

The finance secretary also assured the court that his department would make arrangements for the funds required for the provision of missing facilities to schools after it formally received a requisition for it from the education department.

The court later adjourned hearing into the matter. Schedule of the next hearing will be announced later.

MAN RECOVERED: The bench also disposed of a petition after learning about the recovery of a Peshawar resident, who was kidnapped in Nov last year.

Additional advocate general Syed Sikandar Hayat informed the bench that the CTD recovered the kidnapped person, Bakht Baidar, during a raid a few days ago.

The bench declared that CTD SP Rashed Iqbal and other officials had performed a commendable job by recovering the abducted person, so the provincial police chief should give away commendation certificates to them all.

Published in Dawn, March 10th, 2023