PTI government diverts school development funds to Deobandi seminary

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has diverted Rs30 million funds meant for the development of public sector higher secondary schools in the KP province to the Deobandi Darul Uloom Haqqania seminary in Nowshera.

Sours said that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government had allocated Rs1.7 billion in the current fiscal year for providing higher secondary schools with basic facilities. Of that, Rs695 million was diverted to Swat district two months ago before the government gave away another Rs30 million to the Deobandi seminary Darul Uloom Haqqania, leaving little for the schools’ development.
Rs695m already given to Swat from Standardisation of Higher Secondary Schools project
They said the government had so far released Rs900 million to the elementary and secondary education department for the Standardisation of Government Higher Secondary Schools project.
The sources said of the Rs695 million funds diverted to Swat, Rs116 million would be spent on higher secondary schools, while the rest had gone to road and irrigation schemes.
The provision of funds to Darul Uloom Haqqania by the previous PTI government for its development had caused uproar and Prime Minister Imran Khan’s PTI continues to rule the KP province under new Chief Minister.
The Standardisation of Government Higher Secondary Schools initiative was launched in the 2015-16 financial year.
Under it, the government had selected 200 schools across the province for providing them with necessary facilities at the cost of Rs9.8 billion.
The scheme provides for the establishment of separate labs for physics, chemistry and biology subjects, construction of examination halls and additional classrooms, beautification of the schools, supply of electricity and water, and construction of washrooms.
Until now, work on only 72 of the selected schools has been completed at a cost of Rs3.7 billion, sources said.
Sources said the previous PTI government had allocated Rs460 million for Darul Uloom Haqqania’s development before releasing Rs28 million in July 2018.
They said as the seminary asked for more funds, the government diverted the higher schools’ budgetary allocations for the purpose.
The officials of the education department expressed ignorance about the development and said the money would’ve been diverted by the planning and development department in the recent re-appropriation of funds.