Helmand students without books as annual exams approach

LASHKARGAH (Pajhwok): A number of school students in southern Helmand province complain their annual exams are about to begin but they still lack text books.

Farid Ahmad, a student at Abdul Samad Rouhani High School in Lashkargah, the provincial capital, told Pajhwok Afghan News that the academic year was ending but they were yet to receive all their textbooks.

“I am studying in eighth grade, each student of our class has only up to five books out of 17, some have bought their books in the city while others could not afford to buy them,” he said.

The annual school exams in warm provinces including Helmand begin on May 22 and continue until June 5.

Abdul Karim, a student at Malali High School in Lashkargah, also said that most of their school students were without text books.

“No books have been given to students of seventh to ninth grades but students of 10^th, 11^th and 11^th grades have all their books,” he said.

A number of other students of the province held similar views and said they could not continue their education without text books.

A teacher at Abdul Samad Rouhani High School, who wished to go unnamed, said they were also facing problems due to the shortage of text books.

“Book is the primary need for learning, when we ask our students about the last lesson, they say they have no books to read and remember the lesson, all students would graduate without enough education if the situation continues,” he said.

Education officials acknowledge the problem.

Mohammad Daud Shah Safari, Helmand education director, told Pajhwok that the same problem existed in other provinces as well.

“Few months back, we received 114,000 books from capital Kabul and we distributed them to 10^th, 11^th and 12^th grades, these classes have no problem now but students of third to ninth grades faced the shortage of books,” he said.

He said the issue had been shared with Kabul officials who had promised to resolve it as soon as possible.

More than 400 schools are active in Helmand province, but 247 of them lack buildings and their students attend classes in the open.

mds/ma