The devolution of the Education Ministry has resulted in severe hardships for the orphans of slain journalist Hayatullah Dawar who were enrolled in a private school in Peshawar. “Since February, we did not receive education stipend for the children of the late journalist,” remarked Ihsan Dawar, who is looking after the children after his brother’s assassination. Hayatullah was abducted from Mirali town of North Waziristan on December 5, 2005 and his body was found on June 16, 2006. Since Hayatullah’s assassination, his younger brother Ihsan Dawar is looking after the children. Kamran, the elder child, was enrolled in Durrani Public school in Bannu, while Hayatullah’s daughters could not continue schooling due to the closure of schools across North Waziristan. With help of some donors, government and journalistic organisations, Ihsan managed to construct a house in Peshawar. After moving to Peshawar around two years ago, all of Hayatullah’s children got enrolled in a local school. The children continued studies through the education stipend given by the previous government through the federal education department. However, the children are facing problems to continue education following the devolution of the Education Ministry in the wake of the 18th Amendment. Ihsan said he received a letter from the Education Ministry, informing him of the stoppage of the stipend and directed him to approach the federal Information Ministry for resolving the matter.
