PESHAWAR, Sept 10: The provincial secondary and elementary education department, allegedly in violation of rules and regulations, has directed district education officers to arrange clothes to be distributed among people affected by recent incidents in the province.

“Interestingly, there is no such head at the disposal of district education departments from which they could arrange the clothes,” said officials. According to them, the secondary and elementary education department through letter No. 952-75 issued on Sept 6 had asked executive district officers, chairmen of the eight boards of intermediate and secondary education in the province, Text Book Board, and secretary and director of the education department to arrange clothes for the people affected by flood in Peshawar and the military operation in the Bajaur Agency.

The letter entitled “Compensating affected poor people” asked the officers concerned to arrange 60 pairs of suits each (30 for males and 30 for females) for the affected poor families for the coming Eid.

It said the provincial minister for secondary and elementary education had desired to compensate the poor affected by the recent incidents in the province and for this purpose, it had been decided to distribute clothes among them on Eid.

According to officials of the education and literacy department, executive district officers, education, had no money to purchase the clothes according to the minister’s directives. However, they said, EDOs in some districts were making efforts to send the clothes to the minister for distribution among the needy. They said EDOs in Upper and Lower Dir had purchased the clothes from the scouts’ funds in violation of rules, adding that some EDOs had asked principals and headmasters of schools to arrange clothes.

In one district, they said, the EDO had purchased the clothes from the district education funds meant for development of educational activities. They said it was for the first time that EDOs had been tasked to arrange clothes for affected people.

NWFP Minister for Secondary and Elementary Education Sardar Hussain Babak defended the move, saying the decision had been taken to create the spirit of serving the needy.

“We have asked the relevant officials to arrange the clothes from their own resources. The response is encouraging,” he told Dawn. He hoped the department would receive 2,100 pairs of clothes from the 24 EDOs, eight education boards, Text Book Board, and the secretariat and directorate of education. “It is on voluntary basis. No pressure has been put on the officials to arrange the clothes.”

Officials of the department, however, said there was no element of voluntary donation and a directive had been issued making it binding on the officers to arrange the clothes.

“The ultimate sufferers will be students of government schools who will be required to arrange the desired items as soon as possible. The EDOs will collect the clothes or cash money from school heads,” they said, adding that some of the school funds meant for other purposes would be used to by the officials to avoid the wrath of the minister.