Sunday, November 10th, 2024

Pakistan: Educational crisis deepens with closure of more than a dozen girls’ schools in Shangla district


In Shangla district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, about twelve government schools for girls are closed, and most primary schools for girls are running with just one teacher from January 2023.

Teachers are concerned about a possible decline in girls’ education as a result.

According to sources, more than a dozen schools in Shangla have been completely closed from January 2023, with the installation of a caretaker government in the province.

Furthermore, he/she also noted that teachers were reassigned to their preferred institutions based on recommendations from local leaders. Additionally, sources revealed that six primary schools have remained non-functional in the last five years since they were established.

he/she said the Directorate of Education in Peshawar was repeatedly asked to appoint staff, but no action was taken.

Sources said schools in remote areas have either been closed or are functioning with only one teacher due to transfer of other teachers in the last two years.

he/she noted that the closed schools were located in Maira and Kormang union councils of Bisham tehsil as well as Damorai and Peer Khana UCs of Kana tehsil and various villages of Puran and Martung tehsils.

Mufti Mahmood of Chichlo told Dawn that although there was a girls’ primary school in his/her village, it was closed for two years.

he/she said that at present the school is being used as a guest house (Hujra). Mian Sahibzada of Kormang claimed that there were two primary schools in his/her area, but they were closed for a long time due to shortage of teachers.

Kashif Khan of Kabalgram told Dawn that the only girls’ primary school in his/her area has been inactive for a year. Damorai’s lawyer Sarwar Yousafzai noted that the boys were struggling to study in temporary buildings as their schools were destroyed by the 2010 floods, Dawn reported.

he/she said some of the girls in the area were enrolled in private schools, Dawn reported.

Dawood Saeed Haroon of Sarkool in Chakesar area said the local girls’ primary school in Ranjra Sar has been closed as no teachers are available. he/she said the local people had formally approached the education department several times requesting teacher appointments but without any success. Rahim Badshah from Maira said the government girls’ middle school in Matai Bala has been closed for more than a year, putting the future of students at risk due to lack of access to formal education, Dawn reported.

Shahwali of Alapuri noted that the government girls’ primary school in Naredali was non-operational, and some students were attending the boys’ primary school instead. Resident Ijaz Khan said that a girls’ primary school was established in the Shwar Maira area five years ago, but it has not yet opened despite several requests to the education department. Nawabzada, a teacher from Bisham, told Dawn that the school dropout rate has increased in the area due to the closure of schools or their operation with only one teacher.

he/she informed that following a 2022 order of the Peshawar High Court, the Education Department ordered that a primary girls’ school should have at least two female teachers to reduce learning loss in case one is absent. The teacher emphasized that local girls were being deprived of their fundamental right to education. When contacted, District Education Officer Parveen Rehman claimed that no school is closed in the district.



Share on:

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *