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Girls school rehabilitates building on self-help basis

By Aurangzeb Malik 2017-10-12
CHINIOT: The management of the Govt Girls High School, has on a selfhelp basis, rehabilitated an 11-room block of the school which was declared dangerous some two years back.

The school was established in the 1970s in the building of the old civil hospital which had been shifted to a new location.

More classrooms and halls were added to the building with the passage of time and it became the largest educational institution for girls with 2,320 students.

The central block, constructed in 1980, developed cracks in its walls and the roof. The buildings department inspected the block in 2015 and advised the principal to vacate the building,declaring it dangerous.

The classes were shif ted to the courtyard, hall or in the open as there was no other vacant classrooms.

The cost of reconstruction of the block was estimated to be Rs20m and the school administration went from pillar to post to get grants for reconstruction for two years but to no avail.

The school manage-ment, supervisory officers and school council members came up with a repair plan for the building with the private funds which would cost only Rs0.8million as there were no government grants available. The repair work started in July 2017 on a self-help basis utilising the school`s own funds and collection from the Farogh-i-TaleemFund from students and community members.

Within two months, the dangerous portions of roofs and walls were repaired while windowpanes, shades and doors were renovated at a nominal cost. The school started using new rehabilitated block for classes in September.

Mehnaz Rafi, headmistress of the school, said it was difficult to rehabilitate the block but the of ficers of the district education authority (DEA) and community members not only ensured quality work but also managed to get material at affordable rates.

DEA Chief Executive Officer Liaqat Ali Nasir said all the heads of public schools had been directed to utilise their own resources to improve and rehabilitate the buildings on a self-help basis.