Ghazni’s Ghogyani district residents demand schools

GHAZNI (Pajhwok): Residents of Khogyani district of southern Ghazni province say there are more than 100 villages in the district where thousands of people live, but only three schools for boys exist that too were built in the last three years and have no buildings.

The residents demand of the government to provide standard education services for girls and boys in the district.

Khuda Nur, a white-bearded man from Khogyani district, told Pajhwok Afghan News their district despite being located near Ghazni city had long been neglected.

He said the district lacked schools since Sardar Mohammad Daud Khan’s rule and several generations deprived of the light of knowledge.

“The district paid no attention by all previous and current governments. It was a war zone for 20 years, there was not even a single school. Three years ago, tribal leaders demanded schools and the previous government established three schools after the Taliban’s permission.”

The elderly man said many residents of the district grew illiterate, but they did not want their children’s fate to be like them.

He urged the government to build schools for boys and girls in Khogyani district and provide the children with standard education services.

Another tribal leader, Haji Sultan Shah, told Pajhwok Afghan News three schools in the entire district were not enough. There was no school for girls, he said, asking the government to build schools in all villages for boys and girls.

“For the whole district, three schools are not enough. Children from remote villages spend about four hours walking to school.” He said the schools had no building and lacked textbooks and professional teachers.

Several students also said they had to walk for two hours to reach school and for another two hours to return home.

Hassan Gul, a sixth grade student, told Pajhwok he reaches Gharib Qala school from Sheikh Aka village on bicycle in two hours but boys who go to school on foot walk for three or four hours.

"Besides these problems, our teachers are not professionals; they are graduated from sixth grade and have been appointed as teachers due to urgency.  Our school has no building, there is no suitable environment. We lack drinking water, textbooks and other teaching materials.”

The student called on the current government to resolve the mentioned problems to enable them to study in a standard way.

Ghazni Education Department officials admit the educational process in Khogyani district confront many challenges and promise to pay attention to improving the educational process in Khogyani and all other districts.

Shafiqullah Qarizada, the department spokesman, said it was true Khogyani district lagged behind in field of education and it was due to the war and the negligence of the previous government. He said they had shared all the problems with the Education Ministry center.

Not only Khogyani district but all remote districts of Ghazni province are facing similar problems.

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