The rehabilitation, renovation, and standardisation of 402 Government Higher Secondary Schools (GHSS) will be completed by March 2017 at an estimated cost of four billion rupees under the present provincial government's program for reconstruction and rehabilitation of deteriorating buildings of GHSSs and provision of all missing facilities in them.
This was told to the Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Pervez Khattak who chaired a meeting in this regard at CM Secretariat today and he assured provision of more funds, if required, to enhance standard of these schools and ensure provision of all missing facilities including sports grounds, additional rooms, science and IT laboratories and secured boundary walls etc.
The meeting was attended by the provincial education minister, Muhammad Atif Khan, Special Assistant to the Chief Minister for Information and Higher Education, Mushtaq Ahmed Ghani, Secretary Education, Ali Raza Bhutta, Additional Secretary, Qaisar Alam, Secretary C&W department, Muhammad Asif and other concerned officers and consultant of the project.
The meeting was informed that out of total 402 GHSSs, rehabilitation of 202 schools in all respects would be completed by February 2017 under HAMQADAM program while a target had been fixed for March 2017 to complete standardisation of the remaining 200 schools by the provincial education department.
It was informed that construction work of 32 schools has been started and technical survey of 37 more schools had been completed while tendering process of remaining 133 schools was underway. Under the projects all missing facilities including additional class rooms, wash rooms, boundary walls, water, and electricity will be provided to these schools.
The education minister Atif khan told the meeting that a total of 123 boys and 79 girls GHSSs were selected in nine districts of the province for the rehabilitation which were found in dilapidated condition in terms of building, accommodation and educational facilities. Of these schools, 35 are located in Mardan district, 31 each in Peshawar and lower Dir districts, 25 in Abbottabad, 22 in Charsada, 19 in Haripur, 18 in Nowshera, 17 in Kohat and 04 in Chitral district. A total of 1134 class rooms, 294 science laboratories, 130 IT labs. 136 libraries, 114 examination halls, 56 clerk offices, 43 principal offices, 95 staff rooms, 112 cycle/motor cycle parking and 174 chowkidar/guard huts will be constructed besides provision of other facilities in 202 schools, he briefed.
During the meeting the C&W department also presented the final feasibility report of standardisation and state of the art refurbishment of the other 200 schools to provide conducive learning environment to the students of such schools.
The plan envisaged rehabilitation of existing buildings, construction of new class rooms, labs, multipurpose halls, lavatories, boundary walls, sports rooms, cafeteria, facilities for disables, landscaping, water supply and over head tanks, electrifications, sewerage system and parking etc.
The Chief Minister Pervez Khattak on this occasion reiterated his commitment to bring all government schools at par with the international standard by providing them all necessary facilities for the curricular and extra-curricular activities and directed the authorities concerned to ensure renovation of all schools under a unified design and provision of equal facilities to all such schools.
He ordered to make the provision of sports grounds and other sports facilities mandatory for all schools and directed the relevant authorities to acquire additional land for sports grounds as well as additional rooms, if required, and assured that additional financial resources would be made available for this purpose. He was of the view that physical training of the students should not be allowed to suffer due to non availability of the sports facilities.
He reminded that physical training had already been made compulsory for students of all government and private schools in a bid to maintain their sound physical health. He also directed that no compromise should be made on quality refurbishment as well as facilities for the schools.
Stressing the need for timely completion of the projects, Pervez khattak also asked the education department to acquire additional land for construction of additional class rooms wherever it required.