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| Parents worried about future of their children |
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| Written by Administrator | |
| Friday, 28 July 2006 | |
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LASHKARGAH - Thousands of children deprived of education because of non-availability of schools, lack of teaching aids and teachers and no proper buildings for schools in a number of districts in the southern Uruzgan province. Some of the districts have no schools at all while others, where schools existed in some shape, do not have professional teachers and other facilities. The parents worried their children would grow uneducated if the situation persisted. Haji Gul Ahmad (31), resident of the Khas Uruzgan district, told Pajhwok Afghan News there was a school in the district but the students could not attend it for fear of Taliban, who warned both teachers and students through night letters not to come to the school. Mohammadullah, dweller of Tirin Kot, capital of the province, said only a few schools were operational in the provincial capital while the rest had been closed down as little number or no students turned up. In the Chinarto district, residents say there are three schools but all have been closed due to the lawlessness and risks involved in getting education. An inhabitant of the district Haji Abdul Manan said the precious time of their children had been wasted at homes. People in some other districts of the province say they had been warned through night letters not to enroll their children in schools. Instead, they should be sent to mosques to learn the Holy Quran and religious education, said Hakimullah, resident of the Charchino district. "Impart religious education to your children instead of the modern teachings; otherwise all of you will be killed," said Hakimullah quoting a paragraph from the night letters distributed in the district. Admitting the problems faced by the people, provincial Governor Abdul Hakim Munib said those involved in burning schools and threatening teachers and students were enemies of the people and the state. "Closing down of schools was one of the biggest problems faced by the province and the people had lodged several complaints with the government," he said, adding the government was struggling to open all the schools. Deputy Education Minister Siddiq Patman also admitted the problems and the Afghan and coalition forces were trying to ensure security of schools by expelling the terrorists. Schools are being burnt by anti-government elements in the southern and eastern provinces of the country. The dissidents are also threatening teachers not to attend schools. Only a few months back, a schoolteacher and a student were slain when armed men attacked a school in the southern Helmand province. Majority of parents asked their children to stay at homes instead of attending schools after the gory incident. (BY: Pajhwok Afghan News, Kabul) |
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