Many Helmand areas lack schools, say residents

LASHKARGAH (Pajhwok): The residents of southern Helmand province are complaining about lack of schools in many areas and say the existing schools have no professional teachers and textbooks.

Due to lack of schools in many parts of the province, children's access to education is limited, the residents say.

They add that Helmand is the largest province in the country, but it has not received the attention it deserves in the field of education.

Mohammad Anwar, a resident of Nad Ali district, told Pajhwok Afghan News that schools in his district were not enough for children.

"Though the number of schools is less than the number of students, yet our children do not have professional teachers and textbooks," he said. He said the government should provide education to their children.

As a first step, he said, the government should approve more schools for their children.

He added that if the number of textbooks in existing schools is increased and professional teachers are hired, it will have a very positive effect on the education of children.

Ahmad Wali, a resident of Nawa district, said the main problem was the shortage of textbooks and professional teachers in many schools.

He says the economic situation of the people is not good and they cannot afford to buy books.

Meanwhile, Hafiz Hakimi, deputy head of Helmand's education department, said the number of textbooks in schools was less than 50 percent.

But he said the problem was inherited from the previous government.

He said efforts were being made to resolve the issue of lack of textbooks and hoped the problem would be solved soon.

He said the education minister visited Lashkar Gah a few days ago and a number of suggestions were made to him about education.

He said the education minister accepted their 15 proposals and the issue of books was on the forefront and would be resolved soon.

Hafiz Hakimi said they had also made suggestions to the ministry about professional teachers, which had been accepted.

Hafiz also said that the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) had promised to pay for the renovation of about 70 schools in Helmand.

He said renovation work on the schools would begin in the near future.

According to the Helmand Education Department, there are 419 schools in the province, 41 of which are closed due to lack of structure.

He said that there are currently 254460 students in Helmand, of which 108891 are boys and 65669 are girls.

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