GILGIT: A sub-jail building in Chilas has been converted into a girls’ school while the under-construction Commissioner House in Diamer will now be repurposed into a women’s hostel.

According to Diamer Commissioner Altamash Janjua, the sub-jail building, which was under the supervision of GB Scouts, has now been turned into a school for 200 girls.

The building is undergoing renovation, which would be completed within three weeks, the commissioner said, adding that the school would become a fully functioning educational institution in future.

The repurposed building will feature a range of facilities, including a library, offering students access to a wide variety of books and educational resources.

Commissioner House converted into women’s hostel

Additionally, an IT lab equipped with modern gadgets would be set up to enhance digital literacy, Commissioner Janjua said, adding that the classrooms would have digital screens to facilitate interactive learning experiences with a proper server and learning management software.

“The repurposed school is near completion and it will offer a transformative educational experience to the students in the community,” the commissioner said.

The successful conversion of the jail building into a girls’ school highlights the importance of resource allocation to meet the urgent needs of the local population, according to him.

Step aimed at promoting education

When contacted, GB Chief Secretary Mohiyuddin Ahmad Wani confirmed the development and said that the reforms undertaken by the government to promote education in GB, particularly in Diamer, led to an increase in the enrollment in government schools.

Mr Wani added that the government schools didn’t have enough buildings to accommodate the influx of new students.

The project to convert the sub-jail building into a school was aimed at providing much-needed resources to an area where schools are scarce.

He claimed that enrollment in boys’ and girls’ schools in the Diamer district had increased by eight per cent in one year.

Meanwhile, the Diamer Commissioner House, which was still under construction at an estimated cost of Rs100 million, was being repurposed into a women’s hostel, according to a statement by Mr Wani’s office.

The proposed women’s hostel was being designed to provide women with secure and comfortable accommodation, the statement quoted Mr Wani as saying.

It will create a safe space where women can live and work without fear, thereby encouraging their participation in the local workforce.

Currently, the building is being used as classrooms for boys as a temporary arrangement and it will become a women’s hostel after the construction is completed.

“In the larger interest of locals and students in Diamer, we have converted this building into a temporary school and started classes for students,” he said, admitting that local students despite having immense potential were left behind due to the lack of resources.

Published in Dawn, May 22nd, 2023