Government schools report dismal enrolments

Concerns mount over privatisation's impact on out-of-school children

Most schools, a startling 90 per cent, reported zero admissions in the new admissions phase which began in government schools following the summer break.

The admission phase is scheduled to run from August 15 to August 31. In the initial 10-day period that has passed, from August 15 to August 24, government schools have merely witnessed a trickle of new admissions, with a staggering 90 per cent of schools reporting zero new admissions.

The overall number of new admissions in government schools was dismal, with only 25 students enrolled in Rawalpindi division and enrolments 13,000 across Punjab. In a concerning trend, 370 government schools in Rawalpindi district have been transferred to private sector management and Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), with plans underway to hand over additional schools to private entities. After the summer break, a total of 2,193 children were newly admitted to private schools in Rawalpindi district.

All Pakistan Private Schools Management Association President, Abrar Ahmed Khan, revealed that currently, there are 3,000 registered private schools in Rawalpindi district catering to approximately 1.5 million students. However, he lamented that due to the government's poor educational policies, the number of out-of-school children in Punjab has alarmingly exceeded the 25 million mark.

Meanwhile, Primary Elementary Secondary Teachers Association President, Abdul Rauf Kayani, and Punjab SES Teachers Association Central Secretary, Shafiq Bhalwalia, expressed concerns that the privatisation of public schools, particularly the handing over of good schools to the Danish Schools administration, is leading to a decline in enrolment in government schools. They warned that this trend is ominous and urged the immediate halt of privatisation, emphasising that education has become increasingly expensive and inaccessible.