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Khyber Pakhtunkhwa reopens 85% of public schools
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa reopens 85% of public schools
20/09/2010
By Javed Aziz Khan
PESHAWAR – Uncowed by catastrophic floods that destroyed hundreds of schools and left thousands homeless, education officials in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa said they expected 85% of government-run schools to reopen September 20.
“We are working on Sunday only to ensure that educational activities resume Monday (September 20),” said Sardar Hussain Babak, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa minister for schools and literacy. Schools should have opened September 1, but the floods forced a delay.
The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Education Ministry estimates that more than 700 schools were either destroyed or damaged by the unprecedented flooding; another 1,060 were converted to relief camps for the displaced.
Those inhabiting the schools have been told to vacate the buildings so hundreds of thousands of students can resume their education. Refugees have complained in turn they have nowhere to go.
“Where will I take my wife and three kids after leaving the relief camp? I have been given a tent, but how can my family live there?” asked Abdul Qadeer, who was directed to vacate a school relief camp in Peshawar.
“We are not displacing these affected people from schools, but we request them to shift back to their houses as their presence in schools is affecting the studies of hundreds of thousands of people. At least 13 schools in Peshawar are still occupied by these flood-affected people,” an education department official said on condition of anonymity.
Apart from secondary schools, a number of colleges were also converted into relief camps to accommodate displaced persons, especially women and children.
Two colleges in Charsadda and two in Nowshera district are housing 3,649 people, including 1,801 females.
Babak said that although a large number of schools have been destroyed, plans for alternate arrangements exist, including setting up tent schools, merging destroyed schools with ones nearby that are still standing, and renting buildings to use as schools. Another option is to schedule education in daytime and evening shifts.
The executive district officers in all the affected areas have received orders to find books for those children who lost their books and other supplies. Informal schools also are beginning operation with the support of UNICEF in the affected areas.
The floods also destroyed hundreds of thousands of students' educational records.
Some committed volunteers have started informal classes for displaced children inside the relief camps so their studies would not suffer.
“We are just putting our share into helping flood-affected children,” said Alamzeb Khan, a volunteer from Nowshera.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa reopens 85% of public schools
20/09/2010
By Javed Aziz Khan
PESHAWAR – Uncowed by catastrophic floods that destroyed hundreds of schools and left thousands homeless, education officials in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa said they expected 85% of government-run schools to reopen September 20.
“We are working on Sunday only to ensure that educational activities resume Monday (September 20),” said Sardar Hussain Babak, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa minister for schools and literacy. Schools should have opened September 1, but the floods forced a delay.
The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Education Ministry estimates that more than 700 schools were either destroyed or damaged by the unprecedented flooding; another 1,060 were converted to relief camps for the displaced.
Those inhabiting the schools have been told to vacate the buildings so hundreds of thousands of students can resume their education. Refugees have complained in turn they have nowhere to go.
“Where will I take my wife and three kids after leaving the relief camp? I have been given a tent, but how can my family live there?” asked Abdul Qadeer, who was directed to vacate a school relief camp in Peshawar.
“We are not displacing these affected people from schools, but we request them to shift back to their houses as their presence in schools is affecting the studies of hundreds of thousands of people. At least 13 schools in Peshawar are still occupied by these flood-affected people,” an education department official said on condition of anonymity.
Apart from secondary schools, a number of colleges were also converted into relief camps to accommodate displaced persons, especially women and children.
Two colleges in Charsadda and two in Nowshera district are housing 3,649 people, including 1,801 females.
Babak said that although a large number of schools have been destroyed, plans for alternate arrangements exist, including setting up tent schools, merging destroyed schools with ones nearby that are still standing, and renting buildings to use as schools. Another option is to schedule education in daytime and evening shifts.
The executive district officers in all the affected areas have received orders to find books for those children who lost their books and other supplies. Informal schools also are beginning operation with the support of UNICEF in the affected areas.
The floods also destroyed hundreds of thousands of students' educational records.
Some committed volunteers have started informal classes for displaced children inside the relief camps so their studies would not suffer.
“We are just putting our share into helping flood-affected children,” said Alamzeb Khan, a volunteer from Nowshera.