KARACHI, July 28: A government boys’ higher secondary school in Lyari Town is being run without any student for the past several years.

The Ghazi Mohammad Bin Qasim Government Boys Higher Secondary School was set up in 1996 within the premises of S.M. Lyari School to enable the poor students of the area to avail the facilities of a high school.

The opening ceremony of the school was performed by the present Nazim of the Lyari Town, who was a provincial minister at that time.

“Initially, there were few students in the school but the enrolment decreased after introduction of the centralized admission policy (CAP) about three years ago,” a teacher remarked, while talking to this reporter.

He conceded that there has been no enrolment of students for the past three years, because students admitted under the CAP on the basis of merit have no other option except to join the listed schools.

He said only two students were sent for admission to the school under the CAP system, who too later got themselves transferred to other institutions.

Another reason for lack of interest, he said, was that the area students probably prefer to join a city-based college after completion of their Matriculation.

A staff member blamed the community and NGOs for not taking any interest in the education, saying that “they have always been targeting the school staff for the failure of the institution.

“We cannot force people to admit their sons to the school as it is the responsibility of the community leaders to create awareness among the public,” he maintained.

“We have repeatedly informed the higher authorities about the state of affairs at the school, but no remedial steps have been taken so far,” he added.

He was of the view that secondary schools in Karachi South be exempted from CAP, or the status of higher secondary schools be raised to college level.

A visit to the site showed that the building of the school was in a shambles and appeared to be an abandoned place.

The signboards were in tatters and the classrooms were locked and full of dusts, with plaster of the building peeling off.

Due to criticism by an NGO, the matter came to the notice of the Town Nazim who had performed the opening ceremony of the school on May 9, 1996. In response to a letter from a social worker of the locality, the Nazim sent a communication to the DCO about the condition of the school.

He said, “It is very sad that the school constructed with public money is not being utilized for educational purpose. Many teachers are reportedly receiving salaries in spite of the fact that they never attend their duties.”