QUETTA: The menace of ghost schools and teachers has assumed alarming proportions in Balochistan, according to Chief Minister’s Adviser on Education Sardar Raza Mohammad Baraich.

“Teachers use political pressure to get the postings and transfers of their choice,” he said at a ceremony organised jointly by the provincial government and Unicef in connection with the school enrolment campaign.

He said his office was thronged on a daily basis by political personalities and other influential people who seek posting of teachers at their favourite schools.

On other hand, he said, a large number of teachers did not take classes.

Presently there were hundreds of ghost schools and teachers in Balochistan, he said and stressed the need for reopening closed schools, making ghost schools functional and forcing ghost teachers to take classes.

Mr Baraich said the education department was planning to use the Global Positioning System and Geographic Information System to check the attendance of teachers and students at schools. It would introduce the ‘school cluster system’ to supervise the performance of middle and primary schools.

The adviser said a gender gap existed in school education in Balochistan but the department was trying to abolish the gap.

“Only about 33 per cent of the girls of school-going age are enrolled in schools in the province as compared to two-thirds of the boys,” he said.

Presently, he said, 1.1 million children were enrolled in schools in Balochistan but a large number of children were deprived of education.

He said that 6,000 of the 12,500 schools in the province lacked basic facilities.

Mr Baraich urged the madressahs to teach their students modern syllabus besides imparting religious education.