LARKANA: Education of children in conflict areas continues to be very badly affected in Sindh. A team of media persons visited village Achar Sadhayo on Monday, located on the border of Larkana-Shikarpur districts, to see whether kids are getting education and schools are functioning normally. The dispute between Sadhayo and Dahani communities has so far claimed 40 lives, 18 from each side while four were passers-by.

The dispute had occurred over 73 acres of agricultural land of Sadhayo community located near the homes of Dahani community and 28 acres of agricultural land is in front of the houses of Sadhayo community. Both sides claim that they are voters and supporters of PPP but after this bloody conflict, both lands have remained uncultivated since long.

Teacher Achar Sadhayo said that since 1952, there is no primary school building in the village and in 1987, government built middle school here where in one room was allocated for primary education. After some time, middle school was closed by the education department and was occupied by primary section, he added. He said that the existing school building had become dilapidated due to which lives of over 300 students and teachers were in constant danger because.

Head Master Ghulam Rasul Sadhayo said that kids of both villages of Dahani and Sadhayo communities can get education after primary level ever since the conflict started as they are forbidden to go outside their home villages by their parents for fear of losing their lives. He demanded repair and renovation of old school building and upgrading it to the level of middle school so that children of the affected village could be educated up to 8th class.

Junaid Dahar, a leader of an NGO striving for betterment of education in Pakistan, said that education could not be obtained under the shadow of weapons. He said signs of bullets are visible on the front wall of the school here and under these circumstances, how could little students come here to get education. He demanded of the Sindh government to take actions to stop tribal disputes in the province; otherwise, the kids of villages would take guns instead of pens.