More than 3,500 schools in Balochistan have been closed due to a severe shortage of teachers, according to a written response by the provincial education department to a Balochistan Assembly member’s query.
The department further revealed that since February, when the Sarfraz Bugti-led government took charge, 542 additional schools have ceased functioning. This brings the total number of non-operational schools for both boys and girls to a staggering 3,694 across all 35 districts of the province.
Out of the 15,096 government schools in Balochistan, with a total teaching force of 48,841, seven districts top the list for the highest number of school closures, including Pishin (254), Khuzdar (251), Kalat (179), Qila Saifullah (179), Barkhan (174), Awaran (161), and Quetta (152).
Even the hometown of Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti, Dera Bugti, has not been spared, with 13 schools closed there due to a lack of academic staff.
A massive shortage of 16,000 teachers has created cracks in the province’s educational structure. While the government has made attempts to address this by recruiting 9,496 new teachers, the gap remains far from filled.
The education department’s written response could not be presented during the assembly session as the member who raised the question was absent. The matter has been postponed to the next session.
The Balochistan Students Organisation (BSO) has also voiced concerns about the rapidly deteriorating education system in the province. During a meeting, BSO Chairman Balaach Qadir Baloch blamed corruption, poor planning, and favouritism for the current crisis in the education sector.
