PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government’s enrollment campaign for public schools has failed to achieved its target, with only 38% of the planned admissions achieved.
According to official documents, the government had set a target of enrolling 1,161,203 new students in public schools. However, only 441,623 students have been admitted so far.
Overall, the provincial education department aimed to secure 1,972,338 new admissions across both public and private schools. To date, 890,302 new enrollments have been recorded, resulting in an overall enrollment rate of 47%.
Sources within the Education Department said the delayed implementation of the semester system and the late start of the academic session in public schools were among the key reasons behind the campaign’s poor performance.
Although the enrollment drive continued for more than four months, many government schools have yet to begin the new academic session, while textbooks have also not been distributed to students.
In contrast, private schools surpassed their enrollment target. They were assigned a target of 398,587 new admissions but enrolled 447,724 students.
According to officials, private schools began the new academic year in April, enabling them to complete admissions on time and exceed their targets.
The previous academic session in government schools concluded in May, a delay that further hampered the public school enrollment campaign, education department sources added.
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