The Sindh Education Curriculum Department has decided to shut down 10,000 “not viable” or inactive schools across the province.
In a meeting , Sindh Education Minister Sardar Ali Shah announced that in the first phase, 7,000 schools will be closed. “In the second phase, the remaining 3,000 schools will be identified and shut down.”
He said that there are no teachers or students in these schools. “Closing these educational institutions will help the government focus on the 40,000 active schools in the province.
It will also save money which will be invested in other projects of the department,” he added.
Last week, the Sindh High Court instructed the district and session judges to conduct an inspection of government schools across Karachi and submit a report on the total number of students and the status of school buildings.
It has directed education directors to submit a break-up of the budget allocated and utilised for hiring teachers in the last five years.
The Supreme Court has, on the other hand, taken a suo motu notice of the miserable condition of government schools across Pakistan.
It has issued orders to shut down ghost schools and take action against people who have been receiving salaries without performing their duties.
According to a 2018 provincial education department report, 11,850 primary schools out of 38,132 schools in Sindh are “not viable”.
It added that over six million children across the province were out of school because of this reason.
