PESHAWAR, Dec 17: The volatile situation in the tribal region and some ‘settled’ areas of the NWFP has adversely affected the education sector, jeopardising the future of thousands of students.
Boys and girls of the North and South Waziristan agencies, Kurram Agency and the conflict-ridden Swat district have either stopped going to the school altogether or their study hours have been cut short.
Classes of about 200 girls of the Miramshah Degree College have been hampered for the last seven months as the college building in Miramshah, the headquarters of the troubled North Waziristan Agency, has been occupied by the army.
The nearby girls’ high school and the hostel for college teachers and students have also been occupied by troops, residents told Dawn by telephone from Miramshah.
A student of the college, who wished not to be named, complained that her college was closed for the last seven months and she did not know what to do.
“I could not even prepare for taking private examination as some subjects were very difficult and could not be prepared without the help of a teacher,” she said.
Her sister said she was supposed to take her BA examinations in Bannu as the examination hall in Miramshah was not safe and no one was ready to hold examinations there due to the ongoing conflict.
She said she was teaching at a state-owned girls’ middle school in Dandy Darpakhel, which had a student population of 400, but for the last seven months it was closed due to the conflict.
“The schools and colleges are often short of staff as no one is willing to perform duty and get killed at a conflict-ridden area for a few thousand rupees,” said a woman teacher.
The Government Girls’ High School in Miramshah is also in a dilapidated shape since it has been closed down due to clashes between militants and the armed forces. The future of 500 students of the school hangs in the balance, said a concerned father from Miramshah.
According to the latest annual report of government schools and colleges, prepared by the directorate of education, Fata, 58,715 boys and girls are enrolled in 803 educational institutions in the North Waziristan Agency, and 53,084 students in the 580 institutions in the South Waziristan Agency.
Most of these government-run educational institutions are either closed down due to the conflict, lack of staff and low number of students willing to attend classes. The number of students of private educational institutions whose education has been affected due to the volatile environment in the region is unknown.
The political administration had reopened the Al-Azher School, Tochi Public School and Army Public School in the Miramshah cantonment but due to a lack of security the parents were unwilling to send their children to the institutions, said a local.