Opposition Slams PTI Govt For Shutting Down Primary Schools

PESHAWAR, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 16th May, 2017 ) : The opposition in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly on Tuesday criticized the PTI government for evolving a weak educational policy causing decline in literary ratio in the province.

Parliamentary leader of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz Sardar Auragzeb Nalota through a calling attention notice drew attention of the house towards closure of Primary schools having below 50 students.

He said on one hand the government was claiming to have imposed education emergency in the province and on the other schools were being closed, which was great injustice to the people. It was a conspiracy to deprive the children of the poor of getting education, he added.

Education minister Muhammad Atif Khan told the house that primary schools situated at a distance of two kilometers from each other were being closed, which helped the government save Rs 190 million last year.

He claimed that some 34,000 children studying in private schools had been shifted to the government-run schools. To a question by Amna Sardar of PML-N, the minister said hundreds of schools were damaged in Hazara division due to the 2005 devastating earthquake.

Since those schools were to be constructed by the ERRA, which had not provided funds for the purpose as yet, he added. Replying to another question, the house was informed that there were 4,920 boys and 2,558 girls primary, middle, high and higher secondary schools in Hazara division.

To another query, the minister said as per the laid down government rules, there was 10 per cent job quota fixed for women in all the educational boards of the province. The house was informed that ERRA had completed construction of 108 schools out of 201 in Abbottabad district while the construction of the rest was underway.

According to the ERRA policy, priority was given to those schools which needed over 50 per cent construction work. Therefore, construction work on 33 schools was in progress while work on 60 had been stopped, it was told.

To a question by Sobia Shahid of PML-N, the house was informed that stipends of Rs 436,870 were given to the students, except those from Kohistan and Torgher districts, in 2013-14. According to the policy, the students from class 6th to 10th of the government schools having 80 per cent attendence, were paid stipends of Rs 200 each after after every six months through money orders.

In reply to another question, the house was told that construction of 103 schools was approved for PK-52 constituency, Ghazi tehsil, Harripur district from 2008-13 with 625 jobs. The question of Syed Jafar Shah ANP was referred to the relevant committee wherein he had asked about the ADP for new schools in 2014-15 and 2015-16.