Revealed: Over 2,088 ghost schools uncovered by sessions judges in special survey

Supreme Court bench disposes of case, gives recommendations to provincial governments.

ISLAMABAD:

A systematic survey carried out on the orders of the Supreme Court unveiled the deplorable condition of education in Pakistan, as it revealed that there were as many as 2,088 ghost schools in the country, 1,008 of them under illegal occupation, and an appalling 5,827 non-functional.

The apex court had constituted a commission comprising district and sessions judges on February 11 to investigate ‘ghost schools’ and ascertain reasons for the state’s apathy. A three-judge bench, headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry, disposed of the petition into a hearing of a suo motu case.

District and sessions judges were given the responsibility of surveying their areas and submitting reports within a month on how many government schools were actually functioning and how many had turned into ‘ghost schools’.

The report included comprehensive input from the judicial officers from every major city of the country, making recommendations for amelioration of the dilapidated sector.

Statistical data of the overall educational system of the country presented before the court during the hearing shows that 260,903 government and private institutions up to the level of secondary school existed in the country. Out of these, 2,088 were ‘ghost schools’, 1,008 schools were under illegal occupation, while 5,827 were non-functional. The most shocking numbers were submitted regarding Sindh where as many as 1,962 ghost schools exist, 419 of them are under illegal occupation and a staggering 4,285 schools are non-functional.

The police inaction in this regard is legendary and the illegal occupiers always go unpunished. The former district education officer, has occupied a part of a school in Jacobabad, and built a 2,000 square-foot bungalow. No action has been taken against him and his ilk, said the report.

In Ghotki, some of the schools were reportedly encroached upon by officials of the police department and the National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra) staff.

The report also revealed that many schools in Khyber-Pukhtunkhwa and Sindh were being run by proxy teachers and no action had been taken by the education department, despite several complaints.

Unlike these two provinces, no ghost schools were found in the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) but the condition of schools in rural areas was dreadful with no funding and no proper access.

After the report was submitted, the court bench observed that the education system in the country faced two major problems: the existence of ghost schools and absenteeism of teachers.

“As far as unauthorised absenteeism is concerned, there could be number of reasons such as unavailability of transport, lack of residential accommodation and infrastructure,” the court observed.

Recommendations

The report passed the buck on provincial governments and urged them to take action. Furthering that, the Supreme Court disposed the case and made recommendations to the governments.

It recommended that accreditation boards should be established in all the provinces and Islamabad to improve the deplorable conditions and also ensure immediate elimination of the ghost schools phenomenon. It also called for penal action against those responsible.

“The provincial governments and ICT must enhance budgetary allocations for education and provide mechanism to ensure presence of students at the primary, middle and high schools level,” the bench advised.

The governments must take steps to vacate schools from illegal occupation, said the bench, urging the Supreme Court and other courts to expedite pending cases related to illegal occupation of schools.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 26^th, 2013.