Durban Chah Primary school inaugurated, making it the third school to be inaugurated by the Reko Diq Mining Company in 2023 .

NOKKUNDI (Sayed Jan ):Reko Diq Mining Company (RDMC) management inaugurated a primary school at village Durban Chah in Nokkundi  teshil of Balochistan. This is the third primary school to be opened by RDMC this year and further strengthens the social development project portfolio of the mining company.

Like all other social development projects that RDMC has invested in, this one was also initiated by the local Community Development Committee (CDC) which was formalized earlier this year. The Par-e-Koh CDC, comprising stakeholders from nearby villages such as Humai, Mashki Chah, Nok Chah and Durban Chah, advised RDMC to reopen this primary school at Durban Chah. CDC members ensure consensus-building among diverse stakeholders in local communities, and, through their recommendations, they prioritize and ensure need-based projects are undertaken by RDMC. Apart from creating local ownership for social welfare projects, this also helps the company cater to local community requirements.

The Durban Chah village school is a government sanctioned structure which is to be maintained by RDMC. The company also provided staff to make this school operational with teachers hired from the surrounding areas. This school, with an initial enrolment of 64 students, saw a surge in new students after the construction and other work by RDMC was completed. The number of students has increased to 107 and, of this, 51 students are female and 56 male. As in the case of the Humai and Mashki Chah primary schools, the Durban Chah primary school was also constructed by RDMC and will be run by a third party with the oversight of the RDMC management.

Talking to local community members, RDMC officials said, “This is the 3^rd primary school we have made operational in the district. We believe in sustainable development in our areas of operation and wish for all children under the age of 10 to have access to basic education. We want these children to be able to compete for jobs at the mining operation once they come of age and for that education is mandatory. That is why we are driving the education agenda at this pace – all this is linked to and in service of facilitating employment opportunities for local talent.”