The government files say that there’s is a beautifully built, functioning school in Tajaban, equipped with all the modern facilities that students of a primary school could need. But in reality, there is no ‘well-built’ edifice or any of the mentioned facilities – there is only a hut where a few dozen students gather every day to learn.
The Balochistan Post has learnt that numerous such schools exist on paper, but not in reality. Government files show that these schools are functioning and well-equipped, but in reality, they don’t even exist. The funds allocated for the construction and working of these schools have magically disappeared.
One such ‘ghost school’ is located in Qasimabad where students sit on the floor, waiting for their teachers to arrive. The school is in a hut, and there are no blackboards, furniture, books, water coolers or any other facilities that one would expect in a primary school.
Representatives of the Tajaban Literary School told The Balochistan Post that two government schools, a boys’ high school and a girls’ primary school, located in the Sangabad area of Kech also suffer from a lack of facilities. The two schools have no science laboratories, examination halls, proper classrooms and functioning washrooms.
There is another school in the Sangabad Qasim Bazar area that exists in the government files, but not in reality. There is no school building, but a small hut which the locals have built so that their children can sit in the shade and learn.
The Tajaban Literary Society says that the government must take notice of these ‘ghost schools.’ The people responsible for overseeing the construction and working of these schools should be held accountable. The funds allocated for children’s education are being embezzled; the government must put an end to this, they demand.
The representatives of the society further said that many headmasters, principals and teachers are continuously victimized for their political stances. They said the government must also take notice of this – the schools are for imparting education to the next generation, not for settling political scores. They also requested the education officers of district Kech to avoid being dragged into this anti-education agenda.
The Tajaban Literary Society warned that if these demands are not met, “we will come out on the roads in protest.”