High truancy rate among teachers jeopardizing students' future

CHITRAL, June 12: People here have complained about the truancy of teachers in connivance with the officers of the education department which badly affect the academic progress of the students. Speaking on the occasions of community empowerment roundtable (cert) and press forum jointly held by Devolution Trust for Community Empowerment (DTCE) and Legal Aid Programme for Human Rights (LAPH), Mohammad Yousuf and others said despite tall claims of the government, the situation was deteriorating in schools. They said in many girl schools, the lady teachers had engaged proxy teachers in their places at nominal salaries and that the influential teachers remained absent on the pretext of examination duty. They also complained that the free textbooks of different classes had not been made available to the students while first quarter of the academic session has lapsed without books. They also complained the shortage of doctors in the basic health units of Mroi and Karimabad and added that none of the rural health centres have diagnostic facilities including x-ray. The inordinate delay in the completion of development projects in the departments of communication and works (C&W), irrigation and public health engineering. The shortage of wheat in many grain godowns of the food department was also pointed out by the participants of Karimabad valley and apprehended that they would face food shortage during the month of Ramaz. The faltering control of the district administration over the prize control was also discussed in the forum and deep concern was expressed over the apathetic attitude of the government towards the issue.–Zahiruddin  ]]>