IN Swat, The upper narrow valley towards the north beyond the town of Madyan is usually called Swat-Kohistan due to different ethnicity of the people living in the mountainous region.

It is the most beautiful area in the region, which is fast losing its green look.

Swat-Kohistan is a favourite destination of tourists, especially in summer. The main towns in the area are Bahrain and Kalam.

It is perhaps the most neglected area in the district. Education is the worst victim among all sectors.

Literacy rate in the area is around 12 per cent among men and less than two per cent among women. The area to date could not produce any civil servant, specialised doctor, engineer or noted teacher.

This is the natural result of the perpetual neglect on the part of the government. In terms of area, Swat-Kohistan is more than half of the whole district of Swat but ironically, education, health and communication facilities are in a shambles due to the government’s disinterest.

Many youths of this correspondent’s generation could not continue their education for being poor.

Fawad Ahmad, a brilliant student from Bahrain, was initially denied admission by colleges in Mingora on the pretext that he was a ‘non local’ in line with the admission criteria set in the policies of these colleges.

“Principals didn’t listen to me when I asked them for admission,” said Fawad.

He said he got so frustrated that he decided to abandon education at all but when his parents secured strong sifarish (recommendation), he was admitted to Swat’s prestigious college.

Fawad Ahmad was pursuing admission to the college in 2010. It has never been easier for Fawad’s predecessors either since decades. The once prestigious Jehanzeb College in Saidu Sharif used to be a cherished dream of all students.

When this correspondent was a child, he happened to see the spiraling stairs of Jehanzeb College, one of the masterpieces of Wali’s unique sense of architecture. Since then, admission to Jehanzeb College had been his ambition.

After matriculation, the correspondent tried his luck there and was initially denied admission for being a ‘non-local resident’ like Fawad. It was early 90s and history has been repeating itself for us since then. Nobody ever cared in the two decades.

A student from Mingora can hardly spend a few rupees a day to attend his college while one from Bahrain or Kalam has to spend more than Rs500 a day to attend the classes at the colleges in Mingora. Girls from upper Swat can never imagine attending colleges in Mingora. .

In principle, the government should have built more colleges in Bahrain and Kalam for boys and girls but the only a few high and middle schools, which are present, too, are defunct.

The schools have been turned as ‘launching pads’ for posting teachers from down Swat. They are posted there for a couple of months and then transferred to their desired stations nearby their homes. Posts are sanctioned in Swat-Kohistan, while the teachers are transferred elsewhere within weeks after induction.

Almost all high schools except High School in Bahrain are dysfunctional; and in Bahrain High School there has been no principal for six years. Also, five posts are vacant. Higher Secondary Schools in Mankiyal and Kalam are virtually ghost schools.  A high school in Gurnai village was established in 1996 but since then no student has passed matriculation examination from this school.

All middle schools are dysfunctional and at some, teachers have hired ‘unqualified’ men to render services in their place.

Mostly, the government teachers have other jobs to pursue in their hometowns. Many among them own private schools.

Given the dismal situation a few days ago, the newly established civil society organisation - Swat-Kohistan Qaumi Jirga - for the first time took notice of the situation. In a meeting a week ago, it demanded suspension of the transfer.