LAKKI MARWAT- Many employees posted at the health and educational institutions in the Frontier Tribal Region are habitual of remaining absent from duty, putting a question mark on the performance of state-run departments and organisations.
Several hospitals and health centres are run without doctors. The absence of paramedics and other employees from health facilities is a serious issue, which is badly impacting the service delivery in the remote areas of tribal region.
The non-availability of doctors and missing of paramedics has increased the sufferings of tribal people and they are compelled to carry their patients to the hospitals in Lakki Marwat, Bannu and other districts. It is also regrettable to mention that agency surgeon did not pay visit to any health centre during the last eight months nor any record of activities relating to polio eradication campaign was maintained there.
The poor state of affairs in the health institutions came to surface during a surprise visit of Political Agent Syed Zafar Ali Shah to Shadikhel, Paakhel, Alikhel and Tarukhel. Lakki Marwat Additional Deputy Commissioner Ihsanullah Khan and Assistant Political Agent Abdul Kabeer also accompanied him.
During visit it was learnt that the state of education in the frontier tribal region is in miserable condition as many schools were found closed and teachers posted in them absent from duty. The future of tribal students is at stake, as teachers do not turn up to the duty.
Students are also reluctant to go to schools or they spend the day sitting idle there due to want of teachers. Remedial measures by dormant officials of agency education department to ensure attendance of teachers and make public sector schools fully functional seem a far cry and need attention of the local and higher authorities concerned. The developmental works of public health engineering and communication and works departments are in also agony situation. Due to lacking of monitoring and proper supervision the use of substandard material and low quality equipment is common in the uplift schemes executed by both departments.
The roads are filled with potholes hindering smooth flow of traffic and the pace of development of the backward tribal region.
The dilapidated condition of roads indicates that no repair and maintenance work was carried out by the Communication and Works Department during last many years.
An official of local administration, when contacted, said that assistant political agent had been tasked to ensure regular monitoring of public sector institutions in the tribal region. He said that political administration would initiate stern action against the missing employees of education, health and other departments. The official told that executive engineer of Communication and Works Department had been directed to submit a comprehensive report of works carried out under M&R fund during last two and in the current fiscal years. "A detailed report of ongoing schemes along with allocated funds will also be furnished to the political administration by C&W Department," he added.