LANDI KOTAL: Only a week after the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa governor launched a school enrolment campaign in Fata, as many as 40 girls students of a government primary school in Landi Kotal applied for school leaving certificates due to absence of a middle school in their area.

Parents said as all of the girls had passed their recently held annual examinations for fif th grade, they were now left with no option but to abandon education due to absence of a middle school in Pasedkhel area.

They said another 35 girls students of the same school had already stopped going to school for last two years owing to the same reason. The Haji Gul Shah Khan girls primary school in Pasedkhel area situated close to Afghan border was established in 2006.

Malik Gul Shah, who donated his land to school, told Dawn their request for upgradation was initially accepted by the authorities and a survey was also conducted, but the school upgradation was scrapped in the next annual development plan of Khyber Agency without any tangible reason.

He said the strength of school had declined from 600 to 525 as 75 students had abandoned their education due to refusal of officials to upgrade their school. He said parents couldnotafford sendingtheirchildren to the only higher secondary school for girls in Landi Kotal as the institution was 20 kilometres away.

It was also learnt that the school has only two teachers who are sisters. Sources said the school had only two rooms, and one was used as accommodation by the teachers. Correspondent