OKARA: The Govt Primary Girls School of Chak 14/1-R is functioning without a boundary wall, water, electricity, furniture, washrooms and a sufficient building while there is only one teacher in the school for 115 girls.

A group of elders of the village, led by Muhammad Amin Baloch, say the village has a population of 2,000 people but the school building, completed in 1995, comprises only two rooms and a veranda.

With the passage of time, the school faced the negligence of the department and the some influential persons of the village took possession of a part of the school premises and it became a cattle den. After the hectic efforts, they say, the school premises were vacated in 2013 when the villagers protested in front of the court of the district and sessions judge.

On the orders of the judge, the education department with the cooperation of the district administration forced the encroachers out of the school building and the educational activities restarted.

There are 115 girls who are studying in the school right now but there is only one female teacher for all of them. Nearly 100 village girls have to travel to Chak 13/1-R for education which is three kilometre away.

The villagers have demanded Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif to look into the matter, saying at least two more female teachers must be posted in the school which is mandatory according to the strength of the students under the education department’s rationalisation policy.

Their demand also includes construction of more rooms and provision of all the missing facilities.

Published in Dawn, October 29th, 2014