Humqadam-SCRP is contributing to
Providing Inclusive Physical
Environment in Government Schools which Provides Easy Access for Everyone Including Persons with Disabilities in Government Schools in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province
20th Feb 2019
Written by: Amina Nasim Khan/Islamabad and Farhana Riaz-Humqadam/Islamabad
Source & Photos credits: Farhana Riaz-Humqadam/Islamabad
Government Girls Higher Secondary School (GGHSS) Lachi is situated in District Kohat in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province. This school was constructed in 1927 and has faced multiple issues for scores of years including overcrowded classrooms, lack of functional toilets, and overall weak structure.
Humqadam adopted GGHSS Lachi in April 2016 with an aim to provide improved, safe and inclusive infrastructure. The school was handed over to the management in February 2018 after constructing seven new classrooms, two staff toilets, a staffroom, a principal office, a clerk’s office and a chowkidar hut. Alongside new construction, Humqadam also rehabilitated the school’s existing infrastructure. The school’s building has been made accessible for mobility impaired students and teachers through provision of ramp and a toilet especially designed to support person with disability.
The school now has 17 classrooms, 13 toilets including 2 staff toilets and 11 student toilets, a staff room, a clerk’s office, a principal office, an exam hall, a store room, a science lab, an IT lab, and three store room. The new infrastructure facilities provided by Humqadam has reduced the burden on the teachers by lowering student classroom ratio from 67:1 to 39:1.
Farkhanda Iqbal is a teacher of GGHSS Lachi and has mobility impairment, expressed “I have been teaching in this school for years. An accident during my childhood have left me mobility impaired for life. My knees are weak and does not allow me to climb up the stairs without assistance, I cannot bend down or sit on the floor. I struggle a lot while using a regular toilet unaided. Every day I had to carry my special toilet chair to school. For this I had to request my colleagues to help me place it in the toilet, so that in need I can use the toilet without hesitation. This was quite embarrassing for me. Humqadam has put an end to my worries at school. Now I am able to reach the classroom without any assistance using the ramp and toilets are made in a way that I no longer need to bring my special seat with me. I can comfortably focus on teaching my students.”
With an aim to contribute to transforming dangerous buildings into safe and secure learning places, Humqadam is continuously working in the seven districts of KP. Humqadam has successfully completed construction in three schools in the District Kohat. All are higher secondary schools which includes construction of 34 new classrooms and 28 new toilets, and rehabilitation of 81 classrooms and 29 toilets as of 1 February 2019.