SIALKOT, April 25: The Punjab ombudsman has directed Sialkot DCO Syed Tahir Raza Naqvi and EDO (Education) Dr Saifullah Chattha to ensure early provision of all missing facilities to the Government Boys High School, Kundanpur. The ombudsman also directed him to include the construction plan of this rundown school building in the Punjab chief minister’s education sector reforms programme and make appointments on all vacant seats of teachers till May 30, 2005.

He also sought a detailed development report from the EDO (Education) till May 30 in this regard.

The ombudsman also warned the DCO and the EDO (Education) that if they did not comply with his recommendations or failed to give valid reasons of non-compliance, it shall be treated as defiance.

The provincial ombudsman took a suo motu notice on the report of ‘A school of its

kind’ published in Dawn’s Dec 23, 2004, issue regarding the missing facilities and dilapidation of the building of Government Boys High School, Kundanpur.

According to Dawn’s report, the Kundanpur school was the only institution which was providing better education to thousands of students in Sialkot’s bordering villages.

For the last two decades, the school had been facing varied problems owing to the negligence of the education department.

Established in 1944 as a primary school on about 21 kanals of land, it was upgraded to middle level in 1952 and high level to 1987.

Now the school has been reduced to only few classrooms and a courtyard which are also in rundown condition. Having no boundary walls, the animals are free to wander in the school and classrooms.

Since 1987, there has been no science teacher in this school and more than 1,000 students are forced to get education under the open sky. Only three PTC teachers are taking the primary classes while the remaining posts of teachers have been lying vacant since long.

In 2004, the district government had conceived a plan to reconstruct the school building, but the project was suddenly dropped from the annual development programme for some unknown reasons.