Dambara Village School: A Symbol of PTI's Decade-Long Education Neglect in Swat

In the remote village of Dambara, Khwazakhela Tehsil, Swat Valley, a government primary school stands as a stark testament to governmental indifference

As of October 19, 2025, the school grapples with crumbling walls, a leaking steel roof that fails during rains, and students forced to sit on bare floors—conditions that endanger health and hinder learning. Local villagers, frustrated by inaction, have initiated a community fund drive to repair the roof, stepping in where the state has faltered.

This dire situation unfolds under the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government, which has held power in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) since 2013. Swat's Members of National Assembly (MNA) and Provincial Assembly (MPA), all PTI affiliates, have presided over a region where education budgets ballooned, yet basic infrastructure crumbles. Despite claims of reforms, over 4.7 million children in KP remain out of school, with Swat bearing a disproportionate burden due to lingering effects of militancy and floods. The school's plight echoes broader failures: abysmal student results, teacher shortages, and unaddressed damage from natural disasters.

Critics argue that PTI's focus on slogans over substance has left Swat's schools in ruins. "We've seen billions spent, but where are the results?" questions a local educator. Privatization plans, protested vehemently in Swat, threaten to exacerbate inequalities, pricing out rural families. The Ministry of Education, under PTI stewardship, must answer: Why, after 12 years, do villagers fund what the government should provide? This neglect not only violates constitutional rights but betrays Swat's youth, whose futures hang in the balance amid "smoking" remnants of unfulfilled promises.

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