Jawaan

LOCATED 54 kilometres northwest of Islamabad, Murree, where a large number of foreign and domestic tourists including the high gentry of government officials visit during the summer as well as winter, is known as Malka-i-Kohsar (queen of the hills). Not only is Murree the country’s favourite tourist resort and vacation destination, it is also known for its educational institutions.

There are many prominent schools and colleges in Murree, including the Convent of Jesus and Mary, Murree Christian School (MCS), Lawrence College Ghora Gali, Army Public School, Presentation Convent and St Deny’s. All remarkable government and private colleges, they play a pivotal role in uplifting the rate of literacy in the country. But the literacy rate of Murree itself, where many of the residents are not affluent enough to afford the prestigious instituitions, remains low.

Education facilities in the hill station are either too expensive or they fall short of Murree’s population of over 50,000. Due to this the children of the area are deprived of quality of education. Many government school buildings, which were in fine condition before the 2005 earthquake, are now considered dangerous structures and unfit for use. Some schools that are still functional in the dilapidated buildings are without proper staff, working without headmasters, headmistresses and teachers. Out of the 26 boys’ high schools in Murree, there are only 10 that have headmasters. There are now only a few teachers left to provide education to the thousands of children of Murree and its vicinities. Numerous teachers’ posts are lying vacant.

Female teachers visit their respective schools once in a blue moon. Of the seven girls’ high schools in the area, only one has a headmistress. Girls’ high schools such as Monasi (Phagwari) Rawat, Hookra Kairi, Chitra Donga Gali, etc., have no regular headmistresses as a result of which girls in six union councils of Murree have been deprived from secondary education, specially in the areas of science and technology.

Only the government high school in Sehr Bhegla and the Murree High School have science laboratories. The others have no such facility.

The education department which monitors the schooling system in the constituency doesn’t seem to be showing an interest in doing something about these issues.

Many schools are even without boundary walls, drinking water facilities and washrooms. From an educational point of view, the union council of Phagwari is the most neglected. There is one girls’ and one boys’ high school each for the largest union council of Murree.

The mushrooming growth of new private schools in the said areas, unfortunately do not meet modern education standards. The owners of these schools are only interested in running their business in the name of English medium education, which too is not up to par anyway.

Only a small number of private institutions are considered favorable for imparting education of some kind of a standard for the lower-income class in Murree. Those who can afford to send their children to Rawalpindi and Islamabad in search of better and affordable options do so.

If there are few schools for children from lower income homes, there is only one college for boys and girls in the 0.6 million population of Murree and its adjacent areas such as Galiat Hazara and Khotli Sattian.

The government post-graduate college for boys at Jhika Gali, Murree, is also confronting different types of problems such as shortage of staff and limited residences for teachers. It is also without a boundary wall. The girls’ college is suffering from various problems too. The said college is now located in one portion of the tehsil head quarter’s hospital. Located on Mall Road, the place invites all types of undesired visitors, which creates panic in both the students and their parents. Meanwhile the Girls College, Dak Bangla Rawat has been under construction for a long time now.

It is appreciable that the provincial government is spending a lot on Murree’s development by providing Sui Gas to the residents of the hilly area along with allocating funds for the construction of new roads, etc. But education, which is the right of every citizen, should also be given some consideration.