70,000 schoolchildren study under open sky in Nangarhar

JALALABAD (Pajhwok): About 300 schools in eastern Nangarhar province are without buildings and as a result, 70,000 students study under the open skies.

Education Department officials say they have been making efforts to construct buildings and shelters for these schools through the government budget and in cooperation with other charities and aid giving organizations.

Students studying in these schools also urge the Ministry of Education to provide them with necessary facilities.

One of these schools is the girls’ primary school of Stan village in Dara-i-Noor district where students attend classes under the shade of trees and walls due to the absence of a structure.

Juma Khan, a teacher of the school, told Pajhwok Afghan News their school lacked building and as a result students faced problems during wind and rain.

Abdullah, a student of a government school in Mamand area of ​​Achin district, told Pajhwok that he was disheartened due to lack of shelter in the school and sometimes he missed lessons.

Malik Muhammad Anwar, a tribal leader of Khogyani district, called on the government to make efforts at improving the education process.

“There are many schools which are without buildings and many times our children don’t go to school during rain and strong wind and they miss out on education. We want the government to build a building for this school.”

Nangarhar Education Department spokesman Farhad Stanikzai told Pajhwok that 300 schools in the province lacked buildings and as a result 70,000 students studied under the open sky.

“There are 112 schools which have no shelter or boundary walls. Some 70,000 pupils are studying in these schools. We have been making efforts to find solution to the existing problems in cooperation with other institutions.”

Stanikzai said the Ministry of Education had promised cooperation in constructing buildings for schools and it was expected that a suitable learning environment would be created for many students.

During the last few years, many school buildings were damaged or destroyed in Nangarhar due to the conflict.

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