Education key priority in quake region - Save the Children

It will take years to restore the education system in earthquake-ravaged Pakistan, says the UK-based charity Save the Children, which is appealing for close to US $10 million. “Rebuilding all the schools will take years. It is completely unacceptable for children to miss out on their education while that happens,” said Peter Sykes, emergency programme manager with the international NGO Save the Children, at the inauguration of a new classroom at the Chandara Boys Primary School near Muzaffarabad, capital of Pakistani-administered Kashmir. “And it’s not acceptable for children to be living in tents for the next five years...it will have a devastating effect on their future and the future of their community,” he added. Over 2,600 schools collapsed or were destroyed in Pakistani-administered Kashmir alone in the 8 October earthquake that killed over 80,000 people, including hundreds of teachers. Surviving teachers were quick to get schools up and running, holding lessons outdoors and in tents donated by aid agencies, but conditions are far from ideal. The tents are dark, cold and they are not soundproof. Teachers also say water drips in, so they are unable to store their teaching material in the tents. Top quality winterised tents will only survive for up to two years, but as it will take several years to reconstruct all the schools, an alternative is needed for the interim period. Save the Children is providing more tents in the short term but is replacing them with durable structures that will last until schools can be rebuilt. “We aim to reach 600 to 800 schools in the Kashmir area over next couple of years,” Sykes explained. “Tents will be followed as quickly as we can by semi-permanent classrooms,” he said. This figure is half of all the schools needed in the districts of Bagh and Muzaffarabad. Save the Children is also providing schools with educational materials for teachers and children and they say the project will allow 50,000 children to return to school and some 8,000 children to restart their education by the end of April 2006. The semi-permanent structures have steel frames, corrugated iron panels, concrete floors and proper interiors and ceilings. They will last up to 10 years with maintenance and five years without it.

Children cheer at the inauguration of a new classroom in the village of Chandara in the district of Muzaffarabad

In a move to reassure children who are still suffering from trauma or who are nervous to go back into a classroom, the new structures have two doors. “The two doors are for perception,” said Sykes. “A lot of children are scared to go back to school in case there’s another earthquake and children will be more confident to go back if they feel they are near a door.” The structures are also earthquake-proof and can withstand a Richter scale 8 degree quake. They have also been built on foundations that can move with a tremor. Meanwhile, under a blue, cloudless sky scores of little boys cheered at the inauguration of their new classroom at the Chandara Boys Primary School. “I like the new classroom, it’s colourful and it’s lightweight so it won’t collapse and it’s not dangerous,” said 10-year-old Sakhawad Chaudhry. The new classroom has also given the boys new hope. “I like school. We play games and we gather together. And I want to be an educated man. I want to be a doctor," Sakhawad said.