By Wadood Mehsud
SOUTH WAZIRISTAN: Former mayor Shah Faisal Ghazi has criticized the government’s decision to place functional public schools under a public-private partnership (PPP) program, warning that the move could further weaken the education system in the district.
Speaking at a press conference at the Mehsud Press Club, Ghazi argued that a similar approach in the health sector had failed to deliver results. He cited the example of Mole Khan Hospital, which was handed over to a private non-governmental organization.
According to him, the hospital functioned effectively for the first three years but has remained closed for the past three years.
He claimed that neither the health department nor the provincial government had taken responsibility for resolving the issue, leaving local residents without adequate healthcare services.
Ghazi urged the government to immediately withdraw its decision to include functional public schools in the PPP program.
Ghazi said that if the government intended to introduce the PPP model in education, it should first apply it to schools that have remained closed for years and require rehabilitation, rather than to institutions that are already operational.
He said that despite limited authority and security challenges during his tenure, efforts had been made over recent years to improve educational standards in the district. He added that he would support the PPP model if it were used to reopen non-functional schools and proved successful before being extended to other institutions.
The former mayor also claimed that education department officials had told him they were unaware of the criteria used to select the schools for the programme, while indicating that the district administration had been involved in the committee responsible for the recommendations. He questioned the basis on which such decisions had been made and called on the district administration to explain how the schools were selected.
He warned that, if the decision was not reversed, he and local residents would pursue protests through all legal and democratic means.
The claims made by Ghazi have not been independently verified, and the provincial government had not publicly responded to his allegations at the time of his remarks.
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