Construction of buildings for 18 schools starts in Paktia

GARDEZ (Pajhwok): Construction of buildings for 18 schools at a cost of 225 million afghanis in 13 districts of southeastern Paktia province kicked off on Thursday.

At a ceremony in this regard, education director Abdul Qayum Farooqi said 60 percent of schools in the province had no buildings and their students were facing problems.

Farooqi said buildings for 18 schools were being constructed by Japan in partnership with UNICEF at a cost of 225 million afghanis in 13 districts.

He said each building will have six classrooms, an administrative room, toilets and other necessary facilities.

Deputy Governor Maulvi Enamullah Salahuddin told the ceremony that the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) was committed to fully addressing problems plaguing the education sector,

He said he had talked with NGOs and international organizations to construct buildings for schools in the province.

Hassan, a resident of Ibrahim Khel village, told Pajhwok Afghan News that construction of school buildings would solve many problems being faced by students.

Hassan asked the Education Department to hire professional teachers in addition to constructing buildings for schools and provide complete sets of textbooks to the students.

Currently, there are 370 public schools in Paktia and 183 of them lack buildings and some other school buildings need serious renovation.

hz/ma