Millennium Model School Arkari

Valley Arkari is a small isolated and happened to be one of the most inaccessible mountainous regions located on the verge of the Pak-Afghan border.  Millennium Model School (MMS) is one of the premier educational institutes of this region. Likewise, the same school having momentous importance in the history of Arkari, especially for being pioneer English medium school, like that of Aligarh in the history of the subcontinent. Nowadays, unfortunately, this remarkable institution is facing ample challenges including low enrollment, financial problems, uncooperative local leaders, etc. Due to all these multiple issues, it is a growing fear that in the years ahead we may not have this precious asset anymore.

One year back, after a long period of seven years, we, few alumni, got a chance to visit Millennium Model School. As we entered a particular school, we found the environment quite different. Unlike in previous years, the school’s infrastructure is quite good but the number of students has been reduced at an exponential rate. The energetic and unique atmosphere with full academic voices were no more there rather it seems to be something like a sports venue without spectators, at least what I observed. The few silent and innocent faces at the corner of the fresh and old design classroom compelled us to have a critical discussion with the most responsible person of the institution, Mr. Principal. Meanwhile, the absence of the majority of the teachers, that particular day, further intensified the already present confusion about this historical institution.

When my friend asked about the very unexpected absenteeism of the teachers, the principal said “we don’t have enough money to pay the required salaries so the teachers are not taking it seriously. I am not in a position to manage it accordingly, instead preferred to be silent and allow them to do what they want to”. This shows that there is a dialectic relationship between the economic condition of the residents and the failure of a remarkable educational institution as Italian Marxist philosopher Antonio Gramsci rightly said that ‘economy is to society what anatomy is to biological sciences’. In other words, the glorious chapter of education is about to end because of pauperism with its associated factors and vice versa. Is it possible for poor parents who don’t have money to pay for the fees of a private school? Has anybody told them that they have to scarify everything in order to make their children ready for the material progress via modern English education and other colonial inheritance given the hegemony of the western world? Or are there words in the local language to describe the difficult societal challenges they will have to face in the absence of much-needed institution like the given school?      

 He also showed immense concern regarding the rigid attitude of the indigenous people. The owner of the given institution further clarified the point that the local people, residents of center Arkari in general and Ali Abad in particular, not only tried to displace him but also did their best to deprive the school of the provision of basic necessities i.e. land and water. While discussing the role of our most respected civil institution means the religious local council, he added that the council’s leadership is not even bothered to choose him as a member despite his relentless and noble services for valley Arkari.

 Provision of quality service is one of the key factors which can be used to gauge the importance and stability of an institution like the concerned school. Since its inception the back to the early 2000s, the school has given many talented students to the society who showed outstanding performance and joined the best national universities including the Institute of Business Administration Karachi, Khyber Medical College, Aga Khan University, etc. On the other hand, with the passage of time, MMS witnessed the saddest situation of quality degradation like other educational institutions of the valley. “Now we are not in a position to claim that our students are competent enough to pass the entry test of any renown national or international university or to do something special rather their (students) level of competency is such that we as a teachers are preparing them for the very low level of tests like scout, police etc. which they are doing quite well”, he said.

 How to solve the issue and make the institution stable again? In response to this question, Mr. Principal said, “institutions are built because of the availability of required resources and sufficient financial support as mentioned above that the current situation of our school is mainly due to this reason. So it is indispensable that schools must be economically stable. For this, the support of well-educated people and the cooperation of local people would be inevitable”. Talking about the role of students especially the alumni of Millennium Model School, he said that “the role of students would also be extremely important. If these students complete their education and get some demanding jobs in their respective fields then they will automatically be the strength of their parent school”.  When we asked that it requires enough time, so how to deal with the contemporary challenges?  He took some time and explained: “there are myriad ways to encounter such kind of challenges. A single innovative work would play a vital role not only for this school but also for the whole community. For instance, one of our students brought electronic devices with having all the required lectures, which obviously fulfill the very basic requirements of our students”.

To be more precise, the worst thing about being geographically isolated, politically ignored and financially dreaded is nothing but a horrific compromise with the future of the young generation of Arkari. It is the complete failure of government institutions which paved the way for the establishment of private institutions. Unfortunately, in the given area, private institutions have neither capital nor the required human resources thereby end up getting economic and intellectual losses like that of the aforementioned institution. Closure of a glorious educational institution with no alternative would be highly disastrous provided that education is indispensable if not the immediate solution. Finally, no other option but to be hopeful and positive as Faiz Ahmad Faiz says:

ab iltifāt-e-nigār-e-sahar kī baat suno

sahar kī baat umīd-e-sahar kī baat suno