By Salma Sufi | Program Manager
Zarbaig village is located in Lower Dir in KPK province. From Chakdara town Zarbaig village is about 30 minutes drive. The access to the village is off the metalled road, about 20 minutes drive on a rough and bumpy path. The main occupation of the people is agriculture. Some are involved in small business and work as labourers on daily wages. The women folk are home makers and are restricted to house work only.
At the beginning of the village stands a one room school structure. The children enrolled in this school come from as far as 2 to 3 kilometres away. In spite of all the difficulties the absenteeism is low and enrolment over the years has increased. Since space is an issue and the school cannot be up graded to middle level, girls dropout after completing Grade 5. Only a few manage their way to the middle school which is an hour’s walk away. There is no public high school for boys or girls in the village for completing their basic education.
Zarbaig School started in 2002 in a one room space. This was a rent free room donated by a community member. A teacher was hired and 35 students enrolled. The school started as a multi-grade school and continued to be so till March 2011. DIL has been working closely with local partners to develop this school. With 143 students Zarbaig is now a single grade school with subject teachers for all core subjects. The donor of the one room, on seeing the parents’ commitment and school progress each year, has donated his land for a proper purpose built school building for the children of Zarbaig and the surrounding villages. The land has been legally transferred for the school.
The school does not have a play area within the school boundary. As a result the older girls sit inside the classroom while the younger grade 1 and 2 students play outside the boundary wall. The new Zarbaig School Construction Plan has been finalised. The school will include 9 classrooms, a Library room, Principal’s Office, 5 toilets, and a play area for the girls. This will be become a reality soon with the generous support from people like you!
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