PESHAWAR: The closure of Pak-Afghan border has put the future of over 350 Afghan students enrolled in two private institutions of Torkham, Khyber Agency, at stake, as the authorities have denied permission to nine Afghan students to take the secondary school certificate (SCC) examination that commenced on March 15 (Wednesday).
One of the school teachers Pakistan Today talked to said the border authorities had stopped entry of these Afghan students on February 11, when the border with Afghanistan was officially shut on February 16 in the wake of deadly terrorist attacks in Punjab, Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
According to details collected from different sources, two private schools operating in Pakistan’s Torkham area – Pakistan International School and Oxford Public School – have enrolled around 240 and 113 students from Afghan territory, respectively. Of these students, nine are students of secondary classes who are now denied permission for examinations.
Enrollment of Afghan students in private schools is not a new thing, as even during the former Soviet Union-backed Afghan regime of Dr Najib Ullah, Afghan children were allowed to get education in government schools in Torkham and Landi Kotal areas.
Abdul Razzaq, a teacher in Torkham, when contacted, said, “They made frequent requests to the Pakistani authorities to let these students attend classes and take the examination, but these requests drew a blank.”
He said a couple of days ago, the school management called on the political tehsildar and officers of Khyber Rifles and requested them to let the 9th and 10th class students to take the examination, but on Tuesday afternoon they were informed that the Afghan students were not allowed to attend schools or sit in examinations.
In response to a question, the teacher said that all Afghan students were calling the management and eagerly waiting for opening of the border.
Zar Ali Khan Afrifdi, the chairman of Tribal NGO’s consortium, when contacted, expressed concern over the denial of schooling to Afghan students which according to him was in violation of the UN charter.
