KP primary education in shambles; 5,205 schools without buildings: report

Contrary to the tall claims of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), primary education in the province is in shambles as a total of 5,205 primary schools for girls and boys have no building, while hundreds of students get education under the open sky in another 2,687 schools.

According to a report by Capital TV, 367 ghosts schools exist across the province due to shortage of teachers or lack of students. The worst affected districts included Kohat where students are forced to study in the open at about 646 primary schools, in Mansehra the number of such primary schools touched the figure of 427, in Battagram 271 and in Kohistan 249.

The news report, quoting Annual Statistic Report of Government Schools 2013-14, indicated that the basic bedrock of the education system in the province was in dismal situation.

Samina Imtiaz, an educationist, opined that improving primary education was one of the vital challenges for the PTI government but it had failed to deliver so far.

“The poor condition of primary schools in KP belie the tall claims of Imran Khan as 50 per cent girl students dropout from schools in the province,” she said.

She said that during their survey to Battagram district recently, in 50 per cent schools either teachers were absent or the students were not enrolled.

Awami National Party (ANP) leader Zahid Khan said that his party’s government had fared better than the PTI in reforming the education sector despite various challenges, including terrorism.

KP Education Minister Mohammad Atif admitted that the situation was not ideal but claimed that the PTI government had set it in the right direction.