May 08, 2017
KARACHI: A government school in the metropolis has been without electricity for more than eight months, leaving students and teachers to suffer hardships in their quest for education.
Power supply to Rahat Islamia Government Girls school, located in P.E.C.H.S. Block 2, was cut off last year after the Department of Education failed to pay the bills for the school amounting to over Rs0.7 million.
The power blackout has left the students and teachers of the school in a never-ending ordeal. Their day starts with pitch darkness in classrooms and as the day progresses, the overbearing heat adds to the troubles.
According to the teachers, the prevailing darkness inside the classrooms puts severe strain on the students’ eyes, and some of them now have to wear glasses as their eyesight has suffered.
“Some children even fall unconscious due to the unbearable heat,” one of the teachers said.
The students have finally taken to protesting to bring the issue to light.
Parents of some students come to take them home after the lunch break over concerns the soaring temperatures would make their children fall sick.
More than 550 students are enrolled in the school, which comprises five buildings within the same campus.
Head of campus Seema Munir told Geo News the school administration has raised the issue with the Department of Education several times but to no avail.
“We have notified the department of the power cut, but no action has been taken yet. Electricity has still not been restored and our students and staff continue to suffer,” she said.