KHYBER: Communication and works department handed over at 12 newly-built primary schools to education department in Bara.

The schools, destroyed by terrorists, were reconstructed with the financial assistance of China Aid. Officials in education department told this scribe that the 12 new schools included six each for boys and girls while two more such schools would be handed over to them very soon.

Consisting of a sprawling five classrooms building, the new schools also have furniture in all classrooms, solar panels, drinking water facility, separate washrooms for both normal and physically-challenged students, playing areas, a green lawn, office for school principal and a staff room.

Nur Mohammad, assistant district education officer, told Dawn that his department had recommended reconstruction of a total of 58 fully damaged schools to China Aid after a thorough survey of all the damaged schools in Bara.

Official says reconstruction of 58 fully damaged schools was recommended

He said that China Aid started reconstruction of 52 primary schools some five years ago with six more neither included in China Aid project nor in Annual Development Programme. Two more schools for girls were also completely ignored and were in need of immediate reconstruction, he added.

The official said that the dismantled fabricated classrooms would partially be fixed in the newly-built schools due to the rising number of students while the remaining would be sent to far-flung localities in upper Bara and Tirah valley where there was a serious shortage of primary schools.

The new buildings are in complete contrast to the tent and fabricated schools, which were hurriedly arranged in 2015 when a majority of the displaced families had returned to Bara after a decade long reign of militancy during which most of the government schools were destroyed.

“The tent and fabricated classroom schools were without furniture, electricity, drinking water and toilets with both teaching staff and students facing numerous problems,” Eshfaq Afridi, a teacher at a newly-constructed school, told Dawn.

Zaid, a fifth grader in the newly-constructed Abdar Kallay primary school in Bara, said that they were simply overjoyed with having all the required facilities at their school as he along with other hundreds of Bara students had to painfully tolerate harsh weather conditions both in summer and winter while sitting in tent schools.

Ziaun Nisa, principal of newly-constructed girls primary school in Karigarh Garhai, said that the new schools would not only increase girls’ enrollment but would also help in improving the quality of education.

Published in Dawn, March 14th, 2025