MANSEHRA: The local residents have warned that they will street protests if the Government Girls’ Higher Secondary School Shergar doesn’t begin intermediate science classes without further delay.

They complained that the girls, who recently passed matriculation examination with science subjects, couldn’t continue science education at intermediate level at the college due to the education department’s failure to appoint relevant teachers.

Elder Mohammad Sultan told reporters in Oghi on Monday that the Shergar girls school was upgraded to higher secondary level around four years ago but the intermediate science courses had yet to be launched there.

He said the school catering to many Shergar towns and villages had 17 teaching posts and ironically, most of science-related ones had long been lying vacant.

The elder wondered if the education department wasn’t to begin pre-medical and pre-engineering classes at intermediate level, then why the school was upgraded.

He said a group of local elders had met former lawmakers and education department officials to seek the early start of FSc classes in the school, but not to avail.

Mr Sultan said the ruling PTI had talked a lot about the promotion of women’s education but it was unfortunate to see most girls higher secondary schools in Oghi tehsil without teachers. He and other elders warned that the local residents would agitate if science classes weren’t launched in Shergar girls school without delay.

TRANSPORTERS WARNED: The district administration has warned two local transporter groups that it will take strict action if they resort to violence against each other over delay in the elections of the Hazara Transporters Association.

“We have heard the viewpoint of both sides and will decide the matter in line with the law. If any transporter group tries to disturb law and order in the district, we will act accordingly,” deputy commissioner Mohammad Zubair told a meeting attended by representatives of transporter groups, officials of the tehsil municipal administration and labour department, and district police officer Abdul Rasheed Khan.

The DC had called the meeting to defuse tensions over the delay in the Hazara Transport Association elections. A transporter group recently held rallies to demand early elections of the association.

Association president Jan Alam said the body’s election was held regularly under the law. Shahzad Shah of a transporter group insisted that the district had hundreds of transporters but the rival group ruling the association had registered only 120 transporters in the last one decade.

He said the transport union earned over Rs247,000 daily but spent a meagre amount on the welfare of its members.

Mr Alam added that rest of the amount was embezzled.

Published in Dawn, September 4th, 2018