School in a Graveyard
Imagine a graveyard, with children sitting there, day in and day out, everyday for 6 to 7 hours. Except the weekend of course. You would ask what are children doing there every single day. Well, that is indeed a good question.
As Pakistanis we take education rather seriously. Sometimes we like to take it to another level and in some cases even to the graveyard, gaining knowledge among the dead. Yes, that is true.
If your geography is bad like mine, you only need to google Wazirabad, is an industrial city in Gujranwala district, which also happens to be famous for cutlery. After this year, it should also get its fame for being pioneers in making education available to all in a graveyard.
A few days back however, the school got shifted. It now functions on the 1st floor of a Masjid (mosque). Should we call this progress?
By no means am I trying to belittle the school’s effort, or the teachers’ dedication to keep on imparting knowledge in oddest of circumstances, or doubt the parents’s intention sending their children to such a school. Neither do I want to think for a second what the children going to such a school think about their institute.
What I m forced to question is the role of Punjab government. I do want to question the relevant people in authority: The MPA lets say, the minister of education perhaps, the local body representing that Tehsil, the counselor of the Tehsil. Was the school administration at fault for not listening to government representatives who might have contacted them or warned them to stop operating in such deplorable conditions? Or did the local body of council provided/offered a better place for the school to run? If so then what led the school to keep functioning for years in the same location?
The positive in this is the determination of the teachers, parents and students who carried on in whichever state they were given the opportunity to teach and study. However, it is the role of the ones in authority that leaves us no choice but to question our system.
