The educational institutions are actively playing their role in relief activities for the internally displaced persons (IDPs) who have been dislocated from the areas of Swat and Buner.
Whenever any untoward situation occurs in the country, the students at school, college and university level come forward with their support. This time also the students of twin cities are voluntarily offering their services to bring smile on the faces of children.
Besides collecting funds for them, the students are individually visiting the relief camps to give victims relief packages and to share their sorrows. The educational institutions both public and private, are arranging different fund raising campaigns to highlight the miserable plight of the displaced people who without having a single penny in their hands were compelled to take refuge at scattered places.
Director Model Colleges, Federal Directorate of Education (FDE), Mujahid Zameer told APP that FDE will extend its all out support for accommodating the displaced people and bring normalcy in their lives.
The displaced children will be accommodated in government schools and model colleges in the federal capital. Before admission, they have to show their ID cards or anything, which can indicate that they have come from Swat area, he informed. These students will be provided uniform, books and whatever item they need like flour, oil, tea or clothing.
The circulars have been issued by FDE to the head of all the institutes for mobilising the students toward making contribution for empty handed displaced persons who were compelled to take refuge in different camps. FDE will hold a meeting with principals of the schools and colleges to instruct them about the plans to assist the IDPs.
There are 20 model colleges, eight F.G colleges and more than 300 F.G schools in the federal capital where the displaced children will be admitted, Mujahid Zameer said. Managing Director FDE and all the directors will take steps to provide maximum support to them besides extending educational facility. Regional Academic Co-ordinator, The City School, Safinaz Hassan told APP that the administration of the school has dispatched relief goods to the people of Swat, a week before displacement. After co-ordinating with DCO of Swat, three trucks carrying ration were sent to Swat, she informed.
Around 500 students were studying in different branches of the city school in the Swat areas and the school administration has allowed those students to continue their study anywhere. Without seeing any documents, they will be accommodated in any branch of the schools, she said. Few students of Matric class have already been accommodated in the school's campus in Mardan. While the students of O level were shifted to other centres in co-operation with British Council.
The social welfare society in Mardan's campus became active after the displacement and they were provided eating utensils and crockery at their camps on their own initiatives. The school administration has targeted one of the government school with 600 IDPs and it has taken the entire responsibility to provide them support and to bring normalcy in their lives, she told.
Similarly, fund raising has been started in all the branches of the school to provide cash amount to IDPs. Director Roots Schools System, Riffat Mushtaq told APP that the school being an active member of Red Crescent Society always come forward to extend its support. "Our students remain at the forefront whenever there had been any disaster or calamity", she said. Personal letters were issued to all the students for mobilising them to participate in the fund raising and other relief activities for the IDPs, she said.
"We are mainly targeting the children between the ages of two and a half year to 11 years. The students brought food packs from their homes and one week collection will be delivered to the IDPs at their camps," she said. Besides, a cheque of one day salaries of the staff will be presented to the Prime Minister Relief Fund, she told.
She was of the view that illiteracy is the root cause of all the problems and we must unitedly formulate any strategy to enrol every child in the school. Riffat Mushtaq suggested that the government teachers who were serving in Swat should be gathered either at Peshawar or some other point and be inducted in the camps for educating the children on priority basis.
These students can complete their basic courses and appear in the exams in the month of September so that they can be promoted in the next class. Books, pencils and copies should be distributed among the students. At this time of crisis, teachers are the only source, which can guide the children as well as their parents about the efforts of government to restore peace in the region and foil the nefarious designs of those who wanted to destabilise the country.