PAF Public School Lower Topa

Pakistan Air Force college Lower Topa is an all-boys military boarding school situated at PAF Base, Lower Topa which is located near Patriata in the Murree region of the Rawalpindi District of Pakistan. Placed on a mountain hilltop, the institution is made up of a series of buildings. These comprise the boarding lodgings, academic blocks, hobbies section, laboratories, administration, library, hospital, etc. The other buildings consist of a mosque, a general purpose hall, an auditorium, a messing block and gymnasium. It is considered as elite boarding institution of Pakistan providing quality education and training.The public school is serving as a nursery for the future leadership of the Pakistan Air Force. A new academic block has just been completed in 2010. Admission is open for all Pakistani students, however, one Bangladeshi student is admitted in the school in every intake.

History
The school was established in 1952. The initial name was "Royal Pakistan Air Force Public School Lower Topa", with the first principal being Mr. Shaw. The houses were named after the housemasters at that time.

In 1957, the school was renamed as Pakistan Air Force Public School, Lower Topa. The names of the houses were also changed. The new names were after the Indo-Islamic leaders Allama Iqbal, Zaheer ud-Din Babur, Jinnah, Sir Syed Ahmad Khan, Tipu Sultan, and Siraj ud-Daulah.

The institution trained three courses, or batches of students at that time. After a course completed its five years of schooling, it appeared before a board in the ISSB (Inter Services Selection Board) test and went on to enroll in the PAF Academy, Risalpur for further training. The school remained open till 1968, in which year PAF College Sargodha was made part of PAF Academy (thus halting the use of the sister school as a "feeder school" to PAF), and Lower Topa as a public school ceased operations.

In June 1998, the need for a feeder school revitalized and after a period of 30 years, the PAF College Lower Topa reopened. At the time, two student entries (batches) comprising 60 boys each (for grade 8 & 9 respectively) were thus inducted, and each subsequent year saw a new student entry. The college started with two houses (Babur & Iqbal) and then with each coming year, one more house was made functional. Finally, the college gained its full strength by having its all six houses occupied and functional by the year 2002.

Philosophy
The boarding institution is based on the Plato's model of Public School. Potential PAF officers are inducted indiscriminately, taken out of mother's care and raised as wards of Pakistan Air Force. The Pakistan Air Force maintains a sense of ownness and possessiveness towards its cadets. The Air Force takes care of its boys.

Plato believed that talent was distributed non-genetically and thus must be found in children born in any social class. He builds on this by insisting that those suitably gifted are to be trained by the state so that they may be qualified to assume the role of the ruling class. They are to be taken out of mothers care and raised as wards of state.

Aims and objectives
The primary aim of PAF Public School Lower Topa is to educate and groom boys for intermediate examination of Federal Board. The mission is accomplished in a healthy environment. The effort is to mould the new entrants into confident and disciplined young men with a strong character and qualities of command and leadership, so that they become future officers of the Pakistan Air Force.

School administration
The school is run under a Principal. Additional administrative hierarchy includes a Vice Principal, an Adjutant, an Officer in-charge of the Progress Section (the Academic, Student Performance & Administration Wing), two Heads of Department, Six Housemasters, and an equivalent number of Assistant Housemasters to manage the administrative matters of the school. The current School Administration is led by:

Principal: Air Marshal (R) Hifazat Ullah Khan

vice-Principal: Gp Capt Muhammad Shahid

HoD (Sciences): Sqn Ldr S. Junaid Bukhari

HoD (Humanities): Sqn Ldr Hafiz Arshad

Student Command System

There are six houses, each led by a house captain selected from the senior most entry. They are responsible for the house discipline and are answerable to the school head boy. Other school appointments include 6 School Prefects and 2 House Prefects for each house.

First three Head Boy of School were

1. Pre-Cadet Ammar Ali Zeb

2. Pre-Cadet Talha Yousaf

3. Pre-Cadet Ammar Iqbal

Academics
The students are prepared for the FBISE. The following subjects are taught:

(a) Secondary School Certificate Examination: English, Urdu, Islamiat, Pakistan Studies, Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry and Computer Science. (b) Intermediate Examination (Pre-Engineering Group): English, Urdu, Islamic Studies, Pakistan Studies, Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry. The students from Bangladesh study geography of Pakistan instead of Urdu.

Achievements

The school holds a record of maintaining highest grade point average every year since its re-induction in the FBISE.

Routine and activities
Daily Schedule

The daily schedule is drawn up with a view to making optimum utilization of time. The routine program strives to ensure that adequate time is provided for the development of all facets of a student’s personality and abilities. As such equal stress is laid on academic as well as spiritual, moral, intellectual and physical activities.

Commemoration of National Days

All important national days such as Independence Day, Quaid-e-Azam’s Birthday, Iqbal Day, Defence Day and Air Force Day are commemorated by holding meetings in which the entire student body participates.

Facilities and miscellaneous
Medical

For round-the-clock medical care, the school has a hospital headed by a qualified doctor with the necessary staff to assist him.

In case a student needing an operation, all efforts are made to inform his parents or guardians. However, if there is no time to inform them, such a student is operated upon without any delay. The parents or guardians of the students are required to submit a written permission for emergency life-saving surgery.

Uniform

While at the school, students have to be in the prescribed dress. They are not permitted to wear private clothes. The uniforms are provided to the students by the school. Any willful damage to the uniforms is charged to the parents. On initial joining, students are required to be in possession of clothing items as given in the joining instructions for the selected students. These clothes should be worn by the students prior to the issue of the School uniform.

School Mess

The mess is under the supervision of the president Mess Committee who is assisted by the Mess Secretary and the Food Member. Students are also associated with the management of the mess. One representative from each house is a member of Mess Committee which would meet regularly to draw up the menu and discuss ways and means of improving the food.

The Mess Committee meeting is presided over by the Principal. Meals include breakfast, lunch, evening tea or cold drinks and dinner. However, there is no provision for extra messing.

Allied Facilities

Support facilities include MI Room, Canteen, Barber Shop, Cobbler Shop, Tailor Shop, and Post Office.

Notable alumni

 * Lt Gen Moinuddin Haider, former Governor of Sindh, Federal Interior Minister, and Commander IV Corps, Lahore
 * Air Marshal Shahid Lateef, former Vice Chief of Air Staff (VCAS), PAF
 * Air Marshal Zahid Anis, PAF. He also served as Secretary Defence Production from March, 2001 to February, 2005
 * Air Marshal Hifazat Ullah Khan, former Vice Chief of Air Staff (VCAS), PAF
 * AVM Khudadad Khan, former Add.DG National Accountability Bureau and former President Inter Services Selection Board Kohat
 * Maj Gen Anis A. Bajwa, Former Chief of Staff to the President of Pakistan, Vice Chief of General Staff, Commander 10 Division, UN Secretary General's Deputy Special Representative for East Timor, Chief Military Observer in Georgia and Director in the United Nations headquarters in New York City.
 * Sikandar Raza, Pakistani-born Zimbabwean cricketer

And other very distinguished Topians/alumni: Air Marshal Qazi Javed Ahmed SJ, Air Marshal Pervez Iqbal Mirza, Air Marshal Raashid Kalim VCAS PAF, Prof Dr Sher M Khan Oncologist, Air Marshal Arif Pervez, Air Marshal Najeeb Akhtar, Air Vice Marshal Rahim Yousefzai, Air Vice Marshal Abid Rao, Naimatullah Abid Actt General, Azhar Ali Farooqi PSP IGP, and number of other 2-star brass, civil servants, and very accomplished professionals and civilians, and so on ........