SHANGLA: A landowner on Saturday locked a government primary school in Khadang area of the Chakesar tehsil in protest against the education department’s failure to hire a watchman from his family.

Officials in education department and local residents said Asar Khan had donated two kanals of land for construction of the school in 2019, and in return, his family was promised a class-IV job.

They said on Saturday morning when students reached the school they found it locked. They waited for an hour and went back to their houses.

Residents said over 200 pupils, including girls, were enrolled in the only school of the area.

A source also provided an affidavit duly signed by Asar Khan and two other witnesses, in which he states that he provided two kanls of land for the school without any compensation.

However, the landowner claimed the department officials had promised to appoint a Class-IV worker at the school from his family, but they did not fulfill their promise, forcing him to lock the building.

Data obtained from education department reveals that over 60 boys and 44 girls schools are without a watchman.

Ikramullah, sub-divisional officer, planning and development,at the education department’s women branch in Shangla, told Dawn that the government was not providing no-objection certificate to hire Class-IV employees at these schools. He added the Supreme Court had also banned the practice of making such appointments from the families of landowners.

Fazal Subhan, planning and development officer at male branch of the department claimed that the landowner had agreed to open the school.

He also said the government had banned appointment of Class-IV employees in schools.

Mr Subhan said the education department used to hire Class-IV employees from the families that donated land for construction of schools. However, he said the finance department was not issuing NOCs to hire such employees in the newly-constructed schools.

Published in Dawn, December 15th, 2024