Gilgit (ET): The prestigious
Public School and College (PSC) in Gilgit, that has helped shape many
futures since 1980, is currently engaged in a battle for its own
survival.
Initially it was the government that had
decided to bear 50 per cent of the financial expenditures of the
institution. But today it has fallen down to 12 per cent, with the
remaining being the responsibility of the school management. “It is
becoming more and more difficult with each passing day for us to meet
the rising expenses,” said vice principal of the school, Javed Aslam.
“If we increase tuition fees, we have to face resistance from parents,”
he added.
However despite all odds, the school
management had kept the fee low, keeping the weak financial position of
the parents in mind. “The salaries of staff have doubled in the past two
years but we raised the tuition fee by a mere 20 per cent,” he said,
adding that the school required a water filtration plant and some buses
for transportation.
According to a survey conducted by the
institution, its services for the area have been monumental. The
establishment of Public School and College in Gilgit some three-decades
back had proved to be the turning point in the history of the region.
More than 60 per cent of the officials currently serving at the top
positions in Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) today received their education from
PSC, the survey revealed.
Aslam said the students of PSC are
serving in every field including army, judiciary, politics, bureaucracy
and media. “We are proud that we have some contribution in the
development of the society, region and the country,” he said.
The institution, which has separate
buildings for girls and boys, currently has a strength of over 4,200
students and around 140 highly qualified teachers, besides 55 members of
support staff.
Even this year, the institution upheld
its brilliant record. Students from PSC grabbed all the top positions in
the examinations of Matric, FSc and BSc which were held under federal
board of education.
“I am convinced that it is one of the
best institutions of the country. I say this with conviction as I have
had some sort of association with many institutions of the big cities in
the past,” said Masood Ahmad, a former student of PSC who is currently
working as a senior official in a renowned NGO. Ahmad has also enrolled
all of his three children in the school.
Until 1980, the year PSC was setup, G-B
only had institutions that were run under the federal government and the
quality of education was not their top priority. The deficiency,
however, was somewhat managed with the launch of PSC, the first public
school of G-B that started classes under the administration of Pakistan
Army.
Mir Karamatullah, a Lieutenant Colonel at
that time, was the first principal of PSC who set guidelines for the
nascent school that has now transformed into one of the country’s most
prestigious institutions. When the school started in 1980, it had 240
students, while majority of the teachers were hired from cities to fill
in the deficiency in the region.
Spreading over 100 kanals, the school has
a beautiful building with over 104 classrooms, three computer labs,
eight science labs and one library with over 20,000 books. The teachers
are paid as per government policy. The place also has on-campus
accommodation.
“Despite all of this, currently the
school management is striving hard to have the government support
increased, as the rising prices of everything merit some sort of a
financial support for the institution,” added another official
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