More than 10,000 government schools nonfunctional in Sindh, report shows

By
Rana Javaid
A student wearing protective mask walks over the marks for safe distancing as schools reopen amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, in Karachi, Pakistan September 15, 2020. — Reuters/File

  • More than 4.5 million children are enrolled in Sindh's schools
  • 133,000 teachers have been appointed for 49,103 schools
  • In 26,260 schools, facility for drinking water is not available


More than 10,000 government schools are nonfunctional in Sindh, the Reform and Support of the Sindh Education and Literacy Department has revealed in a report.

Titled "Profiting for Government Schools," the report shows data from 2018-19 and has been released after a gap of two years. According to the report, there are more than 4.5 million children enrolled in the province's schools.

The report says that 133,000 teachers have been appointed for 49,103 schools, out of which only 36,659 schools are functional.

In 26,260 schools, there is no facility for drinking water, while 19,469 are without washrooms' facility. The report further revealed that more than 31,000 schools do not have electricity.

The front page of the report released by the department obtained by Geo News. — Photo by reporter

Moreover, 21,00-plus schools do not have boundary walls, while over 47,000 schools are deprived of lab facilities, while as many as 36,000 do not have playgrounds.

It is pertinent to mention here that a chunk of schools, more than 47,000, do not have libraries in them — a necessary facility for students' grooming.

The report said that 2,812,000 male and 1,749,140 female students were enrolled in the schools.

As many as 2,91,9862 students are enrolled in primary, 185,047 in middle, 140,032 in elementary, 918,706 in secondary, and 397,493 in higher secondary schools.

Meanwhile, out of the total 49,103 school buildings in the province, 14,998 are considered to be in satisfactory conditions, 8,426 are weary, while 14,977 need repairs.

Read more: Sindh govt has removed 3,000 non-existent schools from its system: Saeed Ghani