In Sharif land, educational progress remains minimal

Last government-run school was built in constituency in 2012

LAHORE: The historic stronghold of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), NA-120, has only 73 government-run schools, while the last public school in the densely-populated constituency was established in 2012.

By-elections of the hotly-contested NA-120 seat will be held on Sunday in which the deposed prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s wife Kulsoom Nawaz is considered as favourite to win the national assembly seat once again for the ruling party.



The seat was last won by former prime minister Nawaz Sharif in the general elections. Before him, PML-N’s Bilal Yasin was elected as a representative from this constituency. Despite this, the provincial government is also under the control of PML-N-led government of Shahbaz Sharif, who is the chief minister of the province for the second consecutive term. However, the situation of public schools in this constituency does not seem to be a priority for both the provincial and the federal governments.

According to the data available with The Express Tribune, NA-120 has around 73 government-run schools, with 43 for girls and 30 for boys. Out of the total, 15 are primary schools—nine for girls and six for boys, 18 are middle schools with 15 for girls and three for boys. There are also 32 high schools with 16 for girls and the same number for boys. Four are higher secondary schools with three for girls and a boys’ school, while four are mosque schools which are for boys only.

The last school established in this constituency was a six-room primary school for boys in Manzoor Park on Bund Road in 2012. Since then, no new public school has been established in the area. Before that, Government Girls High School Rehman on Beadon Road was established in 2006, while no other public school was established in the 2000s.



The first school of the constituency was Government Girls Higher Secondary School, Lady Maclagan on Lodge Road in Old Anarkali. This institute has the highest number of classrooms in the whole constituency at 75 and it was established in 1859. Moreover, a total of 25 new schools were established in the 1960s and 70s.|

When contacted, government officials said they would in a better position to comment on the overall number of schools in the city rather than a particular constituency.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 17^th, 2017.