Kunduz public reps allege corruption in ‘Iqra scheme’

KUNDUZ CITY (Pajhwok): Provincial Council (PC) members of northern Kunduz province on Tuesday alleged corruption in construction of school buildings and use of quality low materials, a claim the Education Department rejects.

PC Head Mohammad Yousuf Ayubi told Pajhwok Afghan News that the Education Department was constructing school buildings in far-flung and insecure areas instead of urban and populated areas.

“They build school in areas under Taliban’s control; the Education Department is doing so for the sake of corruption and has been constructing buildings with low quality of construction materials.”

Another PC member Khalil Qarizada also accused of the Education Department of using substandard quality materials to serve their personal interest.

“In the district centre of Imam Sahib, students study in tents, but the Education Department has constructed school buildings in far-flung areas of the district,” he said.

The PC members used the Sher Shah Suri High School in Imam Sahib district as an example to prove their claim.

Pajhwok reporter visited the school building in Durahi locality, which was constructed four months earlier. Students have not yet started studying in the new building but paintings on the walls have been lost and in some parts, cracks have appeared in the walls.

Bahauddin, a resident of Razangi locality, said the school was built by using low quality materials.

“After four months of its opening, the building developed cracks and its paintings lost,” he said.

Mehboobullah Saeed, the district administrative head, said their consent had not been sought in construction of school buildings in far-off areas.

Education Department Head Najibullah Saqib told Pajhwok Afghan News there were some problems with regard to construction quality of some schools, but the department was trying to resolve them.

He said Rural Rehabilitation, Urban Affairs and Education Department officials monitored the quality of work.

It is worth mentioning that construction of 100 schools has been approved under “Iqra scheme” for Kunduz province. Fifty-five schools have so far been constructed under the program, with work on others ongoing.

nh/ma

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