KHYBER: The Khyber district administration has released one month`s salary of five teachers of as many community schools in Upper Bara area.

Sources in Upper Bara said that the district education department had earlier refused to `own` these five community schools and pay salary to its teachers despite repeated appeals from the local community.

They said that these schools were established by NGO Dosti Welfare Organisation about a year ago as there was no formal educational institution in the entire Upper Bara with most of the displaced families having returned to their homes some four years ago.

Turab Ali, a Spiah tribe`s social activist, told Dawn that initially the NGO shouldered the responsibility of paying Rs10,000 to every teacher as their monthly salary.

He said that the organisation stopped paying salaries some five months ago as it abandoned its activities in the region with residents fearing the closure of these schools in the absence of any financial help.

Ali said that a local organisation, Sipah Khidmat-i-Khalq, initially persuaded security officials and some philanthropists to pay salary to teachers in order to keep the schools open as some 450 boys and girls were enrolled there.

`The Sipah Khidmat-i-Khalq representatives met the Peshawar division commissioner, who directed the Khyber district administration to patronise these schools and pay salary to five teachers out of its own resources. Correspondent