PESHAWAR: According to the annual school census report of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Education Department, 627 government schools across the province have been declared non-functional. out of these 627, 411 are located in the merged districts, while 216 are in settled districts.
The report identifies the shortage of teachers as the leading reason for school closures, with 226 schools non-functional due to the absence of teaching staff. Another 66 schools have no students, while 28 remain closed because of disputes. Illegal occupation has also been reported at 11 government schools.
North Waziristan has the highest number of non-functional schools at 111, followed by Upper South Waziristan with 99, Upper Kohistan with 68, Kurram with 53, Sub-Division Bannu with 45, Bannu with 44, Lower Kohistan with 29 and Khyber with 27.
The report further lists 16 non-functional schools in Hangu, 13 in Battagram, seven in Mansehra, six in Tank and five in Peshawar. Charsadda and Swat have four each, while Shangla has three. Lakki Marwat and Nowshera have two each, and Mardan, Karak, Kohat and Swabi have one non-functional school each.
The findings highlight teacher shortages, lack of students, disputes and illegal occupation as major factors affecting the functioning of government schools across the province.
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