SOUTH WAZIRISTAN: Students and teachers near Rustam Bazaar in Wana on Saturday staged a rally against the imposition of daily curfew restrictions in Lower South Waziristan.They urged the federal government, district administration and security forces to allow schoolchildren to travel to and from educational institutions during curfew hours.
The students said the continued imposition of curfew was adversely affecting educational activities and causing difficulties for children inattending their classes regularly.
The students participating in the rally called for an effective mechanism to be introduced that would allow educational activities to continue alongside security measures taken in view of the prevailing law and order situation.
Speaking to Dawn by phone, school principal Usman Wazir said the daily curfew had created serious difficulties for students travelling to and from the school.
He said students were often unable to reach the school on time or participate ineducational activities according to the normal schedule, resulting in the loss of valuable teaching and learning time.
‘Security measures are necessary under the prevailing circumstances, but a mechanism can be developed to ensure that schoolchildren are able to reach their educational institutions without compromising security,’ he said.
Mr Wazir urged the security forces and district administration to identifyschool-going children by their uniforms and school bags and allow them to travel during curfew hours.
He said such an arrangement could help distinguish students from other commuters at checkpoints and enable them to reach schools while maintainingnecessarysecuritychecks.
The principal also proposed the issuance of official identification cards to teachers of all government and private schools.
Mr Wazir said the law and order inLower South Waziristan had severely affected businesses, employment and other sectors of daily life.
In such circumstances, he said, education was one of the sectors that needed to be protected from further disruption.
He said children were the most valuable asset of any society and that prolonged disruption to their education could have serious consequences for their future.
He urged the government, district administration and security forces to develop a practical mechanism under which the safety of students and teachers could be ensured while allowing educational institutions to function without unnecessary interruption.
Meanwhile, the district administration, in its curfew notifications issued from time to time, says Section 144 is imposed to protect the public and prevent civilians including students from being exposed to any untoward incident.
According to the administration, the restrictions are aimed at maintaining law and order and ensuring the safety and security of local residents.
However, people associated with educational institutions have called for special arrangements for students and teachers so that security restrictions do not result in prolonged disruption of education.