TARBELA GHAZI - The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Education Department has decided to shut down those government schools where the number of students is less than 50.
District education officers in Hazara division have issued notifications in this regard, urging heads of the government schools to dispatch details of such schools where number of students is less than 50.
On other hand, a wave of anxiety had been spread among the parents whose children were going to the schools which may affect by the decision.
More than 3,000 schools may affect by the decision in the province. However, the government has decided to post teachers from those schools in other areas.The government said that the decision was taken for provision of maximum facilities to the schools.
According to a source, KP government wanted to provide maximum educational facilities to all government schools of the province, but due to heavy expenses it was looking difficult. The source added that there were thousands of schools in the province which were established on political or some other basis, but number of students in those schools was nominal.
It is said that the education department has decided to shut down all those government schools in 25 districts of the province, aiming to provide better facilities to the government schools, to fill the vacant posts of teachers and for the provision of quality education,
The source told that the KP government was very conscious for provision of maximum educational facilities to students as well as to schools in the province.
Headmasters of all such schools had been advised earlier to enhance the number of the students by getting enrolment of children over the age of 5, but they were out of schools.
The schools heads were also asked to start a door-to-door campaign in their respective areas with the help of parents-teachers councils and local elders to enrol maximum number of children.
The source added now it had been decided that those schools where the strength of students was less than 50, would be closed, teachers and students of those schools would be accommodated in nearby schools.
The source told that the decision to close schools having less than 50 students was part of the rationalization policy which is being implemented to minimize the government expenses.
It was further learnt that all 25 district education officers had been asked to prepare a report for indicating the schools where number of student is less than 50, which would be closed shortly and their students and teachers would be shifted in nearby schools.
It was roughly estimated that there were more than 3,000 schools in the province in which number of students was less than 50. However, final figure of the schools could be dugout after submission of the reports by the district education officers.
On other hand, a wave of anxiety had been spread among the parents whose children were going to those schools, situated near to their homes.
The parents severely criticized the government decision and said that the KP government had been making tall claims to provide education to each and every child of the province, but now with the decision of shutting down schools in their respective areas, the government is snatching basic right of education from their children.
They were of the view that other schools are much away from their localities and fear that their little children would be unable to attend schools located at distance from their houses.
