K-P govt shuts down 672 ghost, mosque schools

Number of state-run schools has fallen from 28,178 to 27,506

PESHAWAR: The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government closed 672 ghost and mosque schools across the province last year, according to a recently released statistical report.

The number of government-run schools has fallen from 28,178 to 27,506 in the 2015-16 period, the report said.

According to the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Annual Statistical Report on Government Schools 2015-16 published on January 20, as many as 600 mosque schools were merged with nearest primary schools while 72 ghost schools were closed in various districts.



Compared with data for 2014-15, the number of non-functional/ temporary schools decreased from 273 to 125 while 119 (74 primary and 45 secondary) new schools were built in 25 districts.

The overall enrollment of students in government schools across the province increased from 4.17 million to 4.3 million along with the number of teachers, from 138,033 to 143,399.

According to the 2014-15 report, the teacher-to-student ratio in government-run primary schools was 1:42 and secondary level was 1:23, but the new report showed that the teacher-to-student ratio increased to 1:43 at primary level and secondary level 1:22.

According to the previous report, at least 16 per cent of functional schools were without boundary walls, 29 percent were without water facility, 36 per cent were without electricity and 14 per cent were without toilets.

According to the 2015-16 report, 11 per cent of schools were still without boundary walls, 25 per cent had no water facility, 35 per cent were without electricity and 12 per cent were without toilet.

K-P’s Media Adviser on Education Najiullah Khattak told The Express Tribune that mosque schools with less than 40 students were merged with nearest schools while their teachers were also adjusted in government-run schools.

Regarding the decrease in student enrollment, Khattak said that previously, the education department had not enough capacity to cross-check information about enrollment.



He said that after the establishment of Independent Monitoring Unit (IMU), actual data had emerged while previous data was found to be incorrect.

According to Khattak, between 2013 and 2016, as many as 12,031 additional rooms were built in government schools, 5,351 solar panels installed, boundary walls of 13,516 schools were constructed, water facilities were provided in 12,196 schools, toilet facility in 16,018 schools while 9,856 schools were provided electricity.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 23^rd, 2017.