BAJAUR: The residents of several hilly areas of far-flung Barang tehsil have expressed resentment over the closure of a public sector girls’ school in the region for several weeks, allegedly due to the absence of teachers and threatened to stage a protest if the issue was not resolved.

Talking to Dawn, residents of Shinoo Kalay, Painda Khail Targhaoo and Ghar Shamozi claimed that the Government Primary School for Girls in Shinoo Kalay had been closed for the past several weeks due to the absence of teachers.

“The Government Girls Primary School in Shinoo Kalay, the lone public sector educational institution for girls for the adjacent localities, has been shut for more than three weeks after its teachers stopped visiting the institution without any solid or known reason,” said Noor Hassan, Abdul Malik, Zahid Jan, Noor Badshah and others.

They stated that the closure of the institution was not only affecting the education of girls, but was also causing great disappointment to residents who had struggled a lot for the establishment of the school.

“The closure of the school for the last couple of weeks due to the absence of teachers is a matter of great concern for people of the areas as it was meant to promote girls’ education in a region that is extremely backward with respect to female education,” they said.

When contacted, an official of the education department in Khar said that they had taken notice and the school would reopen soon.

Published in Dawn, August 29th, 2026