Neglected futures

BALNIGWAR is a town in Balochistan’s Kech district that has been facing a serious education crisis. The lone high school, now upgraded to a higher secondary school, lacks quality education because of non-availability of teachers and other facilities.
Due to the lack of educational facilities, the majority of the local students get involved in various anti-social activities once they are done with matriculation.
Balnigwar has 33 villages, having a population of over 30,000. There are hardly any essential facility, like hospitals, roads and educational institutions. Education is the only way a society can secure its future, but, due to lack of facilities, the majority of the students leave their studies after matriculation. The local population depends on agriculture and there are no proper economic activities.
This is also a major reason the people do not encourage their children to go to other cities for further studies. Only those who can afford it, send their children to other cities for further studies, like Turbat, Gwadar and Quetta. In this scenario, the local higher seco-ndary school is critically important, but it does not have proper teaching staff and infrastructure. There are 650 students enrolled in the current session. A total of 30 teachers are posted, but most of them remain absent from duty.
When I did my matriculation from the same institution, there were 75 students, and only 12 could continue their studies any further.
It is the responsibility of the provincial government to provide infrastructural, financial and administrative support to the local higher secondary school. People of such remote, underdeveloped areas deserve education, too, just like people living in the country’s urban centres.
Shamraiz Khan
Balnigwar