Students Protest Over Dire Educational Infrastructure in PoGB

Students in Kargah Durmushko and Matat villages, PoGB, protest against the lack of teachers and poor educational infrastructure. Seventy students in Kargah Durmushko demand teachers, while Matat village struggles with inadequate facilities and a single overstretched teacher for over 100 students.

Students in the Kargah Durmushko area of Pakistan-occupied Gilgit Baltistan (PoGB) are staging protests over the severe lack of teachers and inadequate educational infrastructure, according to a local news source. Seventy students at a government school have been demonstrating, as the absence of teachers is impeding their education.

The protests involve students from grades one to five, who have repeatedly found no educators present. They decried the administration's inability to provide teachers for an extended period, exacerbating their educational grievances.

A protesting student from a nearby village remarked, 'We've been attending school daily for at least a week with no teachers. I aspire to become a doctor but can't achieve this if this continues.' Another student, Kamran Akmal, noted that at least six teachers are needed to manage the school's operations.

The educational plight is echoed in Matat village of Diamer district, PoGB, where a sole school with minimal facilities caters to the local population. This junior school has only one teacher managing over 100 students, with a serious shortage of basic amenities like proper furniture, flooring, and washrooms.

A local villager highlighted the dire conditions: 'For two years, we've had just one teacher for over 100 students. Classes are limited to one subject per day due to the teacher's overburdened schedule. The lack of infrastructure deteriorates students' future education prospects.'

'Our children lack furniture, proper floors, drinking water, and washrooms. They have to use nearby farms for sanitation, often causing conflicts with farm owners,' another villager explained. These conditions underscore the pressing need for government intervention to improve the educational environment in PoGB.