Mahmud-i-Raqi (PAN): Kapisa education officials said much have been done to push ahead the education sector in the province but the crucial sector still faces hurdles and challenges.
 
Abdul Zahoor Hakim, head of Kapisa education department said the outgoing and the first half of the current year saw implementation of large scale projects in education sector. 
 
Buildings for a number of schools were built last year, he said, adding agriculture universities and teachers training institutes were constructed elsewhere in the province.
 
An agriculture institute is opened in Najrab district, Hakim informed who said the province has a total of 253 educational institutions including teachers training centers with 119 among them have proper buildings.
 
However, 112 of the educational institutions have no buildings while work on 22 other is in progress, he added. The strength of the students in Kapisa reaches to 137, 290 with 93015 among them are male while the rest are female students. As many as 3, 619 teachers impart education to students in the province with 3065 are male while 556 are female teachers.  
 
Provincial education officials said the vital sector is progressing well in the current year as compared to last year.
 
The education minister travelled to districts and even far-flung areas of the province to personally monitor education progress. The education head talked in greater details with teachers and students to know about their problems, he noted.
 
Head of Kapisa education said security is good in all the districts, adding the work they launched in education sector face no problems.  Alasai and Taghab districts face growing insecurity but educational activities move ahead with the cooperation of locals, he acknowledged.
 
In addition to schools and universities, Al Bairuni University is also functioning in the province where 5, 000 students study in various faculties. The university has 100 teachers and having faculties of medical, engineering, literature, Islamic studies, agriculture, economic and teachers training.
 
Professor Farid Barnayar, head of Al Bairuni University said around 5, 000 students study in his institution. He said Kapisa is marching on path to progress in the field of education.
 
Those teachers, who have graduation from the teachers training college, come to Al Bairuni University for higher education. He said teachers training centers are functioning in some districts to bolster the teachers’ capacity.  
 
Abdul Maroof Wasiq, vice principal of teachers training institute in Kapisa said that “we have branches in Taghab, Alasai, Koh Ban, Hisa Awa and Hisa Doham and Najrab districts. The strength of teachers reaches to 70.”
 
He said with the exception of Najrab teachers training institute, rest of the teachers training institutes have no proper building and there is no hostel facilities in the center for students, which leaves negative impact on the studies of students.     
 
People:     
 
Lala Agha, a resident of Najrab and Pajghan locality said a large number of students face problem in getting education with special reference they are short of textbooks.
Tarabaz Khan, another local of Alasai district said his kids use to bring carpet with them whenever they go to school in an attempt to sit on the carpet because their school has no furniture or chair and table facilities.
 
“Children are forced to sit under a burning heat in the open sky because most of the schools have no buildings,” he reiterated.
 
However, some of the residents witnessed positive changes in the Taghab district education sector as compared to the past.
Saeedullah, a resident of the town said a number of security posts were built near schools, which help countering forces that bent to attack the educational institutions. However, officials of Kapisa education department rejected existence of any check post near schools. The governor expressed optimism security in most parts of the province is improved, saying education sector is moving ahead satisfactorily.
 
Naqib Khan, a resident of Taghab district underlined the need that people should come forward to extend their all out cooperation to government, which would help boost the education in the province.
 
He said insurgents in some insecure areas do not object over the male education but they have reservations about the female education.