Bureaucracy criticized: SC orders to make earthquake-devastated schools in KP functional

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court (SC), on Thursday, ordered to make earthquake-devastated schools in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP) functional within six months, and summoned the chairman Earthquake Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Authority (ERRA) on the next date.

A two-judge bench, headed by Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmed and comprising Justice Qazi Muhammad Amin Ahmed heard suo moto regarding non-availability of basic structure in the KP schools, destroyed by earthquake.

The bench rejected the KP government’s request to grant one year for the reconstruction of the schools.

The chief justice questioned why the schools in the KP could not be reconstructed despite, receiving billions of rupees.

He remarked that it seemed education is the lowest priority of the provincial government.

Upon that, the advocate general Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa said literacy rate in the KP is very high.

The chief justice stated how the literacy rate could be high, when schools are not reconstructed.

He said 16 years have passed but still the schools in earthquake-affected areas could not be reconstructed, adding billions of rupees were allocated, but no result.

He said though the schools in some earthquake-affected areas were reconstructed, but those are still non-functional.

The AG KP informed that rehabilitation of areas, devastated by earthquake, was the responsibility of the ERRA. He said the KP government was given control of those areas in 2020.

The chief justice remarked it is not good to shift burden of non-availability of facilities in schools to the ERRA.

The chief justice said the whole mess is for money, adding the KP bureaucracy is inefficient as the officers remain sitting in the AC rooms and do nothing.

If the bureaucracy cannot work then they should go home, he added.

Justice Gulzar said the KP Education Department should be ashamed of not being able to make schools functional, adding for the last 16 years, the children in earthquake-affected areas were deprived of education.

He asked the AG KP to look at the Governor, CM and officers’ houses, and remarked the bureaucrats think huge money was allocated for them.

The bench directed the KP government to file a progress report within one month, and adjourned the case.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021