According to Abdul Qadir Bakhsh Baloch, the acting minister of education for Balochistan, 3,500 schools in the province have shuttered in the past two months because of a teacher shortage.
“The province’s education department has been severely lacking in instructors. Since 2019, the department has not been able to hire new instructors because of departmental and political restrictions. In addition, more than 300 educators retire each month,” he stated in an interview with APP.
“The province’s literacy rate cannot be raised without enrolling children in schools,” he continued.
According to the minister, 150 primary schools around the province—four in each district—will be upgraded to middle schools by the provincial government.
In response to a query, Bakhsh stated that just 50 of the province’s 5,500 devastated schools have had repairs completed as a result of the flood that occurred last year.
“The international organisations have assured their all-out support to repair the damaged schools,” he stated.
According to the minister, the province’s education system would be supported by the establishment of a model school by the government.
Approximately 0.8 million school-age children in the province are not attending school, and 1,964 schools are without a physical structure, according to government data.
There is only one teacher in half of Balochistan’s 12,000 basic schools.
Similar to this, 1,800 schools lack restrooms, 10,000 lack water, and 11,000 lack power.
The minister stated, “More than 80% of the Education Department’s budget is spent on the salaries of teachers and other employees.”
