Move to bring out of school children back

Author: Ahmad Nabi

KHYBER AGENCY: The Director Education Department FATA Secretariat,Hashim Khan Afridi on Monday said that the rationalisation policy implemented earlier in tribal areas had been revised and a one yeargrace period would be given to landowners and teachers for enrollingout of school children in schools.
Director Education FATA, Hashim Khan Afridi in his exclusive interviewrevealed that the directorate had formally decided to revise therationalisation policy and also to restore the education institutions closed down earlier.

While keeping in view the mass evacuation from tribal regions, thedecision was withdrawn so as to enrol the out of school children, he remarked.

As per the government criteria, the male students in a primary schoolshould not be less than 80 and below 70 in girl’s school, Afridi saidadding that the teachers in those schools would do their best for bringing children back to schools.

To a question, he replied that a committee under the chair of the political agent of the relevant agency had been formed that would monitorthe schools on quarterly basis.
An official of the Education Directorate FATA and the agency education officewould also be a part of the committee, he added.

It is worth mentioning here that the Education Directorate FATA hadearlier decided in 2015 to implement the rationalisation policy underwhich around 400 educational institutions across FATA werereported as closed down for not having the maximum number of students.

The policy was introduced by the then governor Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Sardar Mehtab Abbasi.
It had been decided that 105 schools in Mohmand Agency, 86 Orakzai, 58in Kurram, 28 Khyber, 13 in Bajaur Agency and 207 schools in frontierregions to be shut down as part of the rationalisation policy.
After the implementation of the rationalisation policy, the EducationDirectorate FATA faced severe reaction from tribesmen and government school teachers for its decision to close down educationalinstitutions.
The schools having less than 40 children in primary and less than 25in middle schools would be closed as part of therationalisation policy.