Sir: The saying goes ‘give me a good mother I will give you a great nation’. Undoubtedly, only great mothers could bring up great people who in turn make great societies and eventually a great nation. But how would someone become a great mother? Would it be a divine guidance or is it for us to guide our daughters, right from their childhood, to the path of becoming great mothers. Is this possible without imparting quality education to girls? The answer is vehemently no. In the current era, the significance of education, for girls particularly, has increased manifolds. Thinking about progress without education sounds like a fool’s day dream. A week ago I got a chance to visit Government Girls’ High School Kalyal, Mirpur, one of the most developed cities of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK). The school looked beautiful and well constructed, but no sooner did I enter the school the impression died down. The students of class seven were sitting on the cold tattered floor. The windows didn’t even have panes to stop the freezing cold wind from coming in. The electric wires were hanging down over the heads of the students. The building had developed cracks making it dangerous as it could cave in any time unless renovated. The basic facility like clean drinking water was not available and the condition of the toilets was deplorable. Perplexed, I asked one of the men sitting in the yard about the reason behind the unkempt school. He replied that because of paucity of funds the condition of the school has gone down. Mirpur is a prosperous city and a sizeable number of Mirpuris are well settled abroad, especially in England. These people have contributed generously in the health and education sector. I wonder why this unfortunate school has failed to get the attention of those philanthropists. And why the prime minister of AJK who is famous for his endeavours in constructing schools and colleges has been unaware of the general state of affairs of public schools. Zafar Sultan Via Email