Editorial:
The education of 3,86,000 students is at risk in flood-affected areas of Balochistan. Floods and heavy rainfall damaged around 3,000 government-run primary, middle and high schools across the province.
The damage to schools across Balochistan has affected the schooling of 3,86,000 students. This figure is as per the data shared by the Balochistan Secondary Education Department. Although, the independent sources put the number of students and damaged schools higher than what is being quoted by the officials.
The out-of-school children ratio in Balochistan is already higher than in the rest of the country. The education department admits that still, over 1 million children are out of school in the province, lagging behind other provinces of Pakistan in all key social indicators.
Also, Read Balochistan: UNICEF sets up TLCs as floods affected education of 386708 students
Reconstruction of schools a major challenge for the government
The recent monsoon has further compounded the problems of students. The number of government-run primary, middle and high schools in Balochistan is over 15,000. The reconstruction of 3,000 damaged schools is a major challenge for the provincial government, which appears to be least bothered about the state of education in the province.
So far, the data is only shared at the departmental level. The government has not spoken about the reconstruction of damaged schools and resuming educational activities there. UNICEF has only established 22 temporary learning centers (TLCs) with over 2,000 enrollments. This is simply nothing as compared to the number of students deprived of education.
Govt, opposition solely focusing on PSDP
The provincial coalition government and the ‘friendly’ opposition have solely focused on their schemes in the Public Sector Development Program (PSDP) 2022-23. They want to get the schemes completed and implemented by hook and crook and uttered not a single word about the reconstruction of damaged schools.
The reconstruction of schools and ensuring the availability of basic facilities would require billions of rupees. The lives of students should not be put at peril to study in damaged classrooms as anytime the damaged rooms and walls can collapse. So no risk should be taken in this regard.
The Balochistan government, UNICEF and other non-governmental organizations on national and international levels working for the promotion of education should take notice of the situation and ensure the reconstruction of damaged schools. Then, the students should be allowed to keep continue their stalled studies.
