Schools enrolment under the scanner

Provincial govt may merge institutions with few students

LAHORE:

The Punjab government has initiated a review of government schools with critically low enrolment.

The move comes after the latest Class 9 examination results exposed weaknesses in the education system with more than 753,000 students failing. On the other hand, it is estimated that millions of children in the province are out of schools.

According to sources, the school education department has instructed district authorities to identify government middle and high schools where enrolment has dropped below the prescribed level. Schools with fewer than 20 students in a class have been placed under review.

After verification of enrolment records, teachers from such institutions may be transferred to schools with higher student strength. The schools with low enrolment may be merged or reorganised to improve resource utilisation.

The government maintains that the initiative is aimed at ensuring efficient use of public funds and teaching staff.

Punjab School Education Department officials argue that maintaining schools with a few students increases administrative costs without delivering the desired outcomes.

However, education experts caution that simply merging schools may not solve the underlying problems unless authorities also address teacher shortages, missing facilities, transportation challenges and declining public confidence in government education.

"There is a huge shortage of schoolteachers at public sector institutions and teachers have been demanding recruitment for several years. The schools are also facing issues of infrastructure. Instead of privatisation, the government should focus on improving the standard of government schools," said Punjab Teachers Union Secretary General Rana Liaqat Ali.

In the Class 9 annual examinations of the province's nine Boards of Intermediate and Secondary Education, 1,395,475 students appeared, of whom 641,662 were declared successful while 753,813 failed, resulting in a pass percentage of 45.98.

More than half of the candidates were unable to clear the examination, raising concerns about learning standards in government and private schools alike.

Education analysts point to weak foundational learning, overcrowded classrooms in many urban schools, teacher vacancies, inconsistent attendance, limited academic support and socioeconomic pressures that prevent students from focusing on their studies.

The experts call for an independent review of curriculum implementation, assessment methods and teacher training before the next academic session.

Simultaneously, the province continues to struggle with a large number of out of school children.

Recent official and development sector estimates indicate that six to seven million school age children in the province remain outside the formal education system. Poverty, child labour, early marriages, long distances, inadequate school facilities and family financial constraints remain among the leading reasons children never enrol or drop out before completing secondary education.

An expert said that unless enrollment improved, learning outcomes were strengthened and out-of-school children integrated into classrooms, the province risked widening educational inequalities, weakening its human capital for years to come.