Demand for separate BISE in Chitral gets momentum

CHITRAL, Nov 29: People of Chitral have reiterated their demand to the provincial government to establish a separate board of intermediate and secondary education (BISE) in this far-off district to meet the needs of thousands of students.

Establishment of a separate BISE for Chitral has been a longstanding demand of the people of Chitral. The demand has been raised at different platforms during the last one-and-half decade but it could not be materialised due to apathy of the quarters concerned. With the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf in power in the province, the movement for a separate education board in Chitral has been restarted by different civil society organisations, students, teachers and political parties. A series of protest demonstrations have also been held by different organisations in the recent past to press for the demand.

MPA from Chitral Salim Khan has also submitted a resolution in the provincial assembly secretariat seeking the establishment of a separate BISE in Chitral. Talking to this correspondent, he said the resolution would be presented in the assembly session. He hoped that it would be adopted unanimously. Mr Khan said that he had also got a resolution passed in the former provincial assembly in this regard but it was put in the cold storage. He said he would pursue the matter with vigour and zeal.

Ghaniur Rahman, president of Chitral chapter of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa College Teachers Association, said the strength of students in Chitral district for matriculation and intermediate examinations was quite sufficient to make strong case for setting up BISE in the district. “It will make the BISE financially feasible and sustainable.” He put the number of SSC candidates at 50,000 and that of intermediate at 30,000 in Chitral every year.

The annual revenue generated from the candidates stands at Rs112 million, excluding the registration and enrolment fee, migration fee, affiliation and renewal of privately managed institutions and others, he added. He said there were 131 colleges and 145 high schools both in private and public sector in the district.

Wajeehud Din, president of Private Educational Institutions Management Association (PEIMA), said that provision of a separate BISE would bring about a revolution in the field of education in the district. He said the continual refusal of the successive governments to set up a separate BISE in Chitral had given birth to frustration among the local people. “If BISE can be given to Mardan and Kohat which are at a short distance from Peshawar, then why Chitralis are being deprived of the facility,” he asked. Dr Inayatullah Faizi, retired associate professor of Urdu, said students of Chitral were deprived of scholarships which were conferred upon top 20 position holders in the board examinations. He said how a student, having studied in Chitral, could compete with the one studying in the leading schools of Peshawar.

Former district nazim, Maghfirat Shah said that if education boards could be established in Malakand and Mardan, which were smaller than Chitral in respect of total territory, number of schools and colleges and candidates, then why not Chitral. He added that Chitral had the second highest enrolment rate in the province, which necessitated the establishment of a separate BISE to cope with the increasing number of students.–Zahiruddin