Chitral needs cadet colleges
Dur Wali Khan
Chitral had been a princely state under the British rule till 1947, but the people of Chitral were deprived of receiving education till 1926. Chitral was the first state to join Pakistan in 1947 unconditionally due to an independence movement by the local people and in 1969 was merged as a district into the KP province.
But so far Chitral has been kept deprived of basic facilities such as roads, quality education, electricity, health facility etc. Today, you will not find even 30pc metalled roads in Chitral.
First time in the history of Chitral, Mehtar Shujaul Mulk (1881-1936), comparatively an open-minded ruler, established a state primary school in Chitral town in 1926 for the general public. Later, the school was upgraded to the middle level in 1936 by then Mehtar Nasirul Mulk (1897-1943). This school played a vital role in promoting education in Chitral.
My elder brother Col (r) Ikramullah Khan also received his education from this school and topped in the SSC exam in Malakand division in the board exam 1971 under the Intermediate and Secondary Education Board Peshawar.
Now, Chitral comprises two districts namely – Lower and Upper Chitral – having a population of about nine lacs. Although, the literacy rate in Chitral is high as compared to other districts of KP, and the credit goes to both the government and Aga Khan schools. But Chitral still lack quality educational institutions to meet the growing demand while there is no dearth of talented youth to excel if provided conducive learning environment.
Education system of any country is considered to be the most important one which shapes the future of its nation. But, unfortunately, there is no uniform education system in our beloved country with clear and defined national goals and requirements to provide equal educational opportunities to all children to grow together. Though providing free and quality education to all children is the prime responsibility of state, but state badly failed to fulfil its responsibility.
Nelson Mandela said: “Education is the most powerful weapon, we can use to change the world.” Our armed forces wisely used this weapon to bring about visible change in the field of education in the country. Now, Pakistan has a well-reputed cadet college system (managed by Pak Army) all over the country except Chitral districts. Parents prefer these institutes more because of providing quality education, focusing on physical fitness, discipline and laying emphasis on character building of students. So, being patriotic, it is a dream of every young Pakistani to join the armed forces to serve the country.
By nature, Chitrali people love to serve the country by joining military and paramilitary forces. Many soldiers and officers from Chitral have sacrificed their lives fighting bravely against enemies and terrorists and earned good name for the country. Keeping in view the great services and sacrifices of lives of Chitrali Jawans and officers, the people of Chitral appeal to Chief of Army Staff Syed Asim Munir and the corps commander Peshawar to grand approval of two cadet colleges one in Lower and one in Upper Chitral to impart world class education to our children along with providing scientific knowledge and skills to groom children’s creative minds for a better understanding of the modern world.
We are optimistic that our chief of army staff would take our genuine request seriously and would give the gift of cadet colleges for Chitrali nation too as down districts have already have this facility since 1954.