KARACHI: A total of 5,229 government schools are closed in the province, and Tharparkar, where 798 of them are located, tops the list of districts with the largest number of closed schools, shows the data distributed in the Sindh Assembly on Thursday.

Based on a report prepared by the Reform Support Unit showing details of closed schools and reasons for the closure as per the School Census 2011-12, the data was provided in response to a question asked by Pakistan Muslim League-Functional legislator Nusrat Sehar Abbasi.

It shows that of the 5,229 schools some 3,995 have been closed temporarily and 1,234 permanently. Unavailability of teachers is the main reason for the closure of 3,177, the largest number of such schools.

Some 659 schools have been closed because there is either no adequate population or no enrolment. The existence of 137 schools could not be confirmed as the schools had ceased to function a long time ago and no record was available for those schools. Some 103 schools have been merged with other schools and 87 closed owing to poor law and order situation. Reasons for the closure of 1,066 schools have not been specified and only “others” has been written in the column citing the reasons.

With 723 closed schools, Thatta is in the second place in the list showing the names of districts with closed schools. Umerkot with 477 closed schools is in the third place. Names of other districts with the number of closed schools are: Khairpur (319), Kashmore-Kandhkot (290), Mirpurkhas (275), Shikarpur (270), Sanghar (253), Badin (238), Shaheed Benazirabad (230), Naushehro Feroz (162), Kambar-Shahdadkot (146), Dadu (13), Jamshoro (141), Tando Allahyar (119), Jacobabad (106), Karachi (97), Tando Mohammad Khan (89), Matiari (89), Sukkur (85), Ghotki (85), Hyderabad (28), and Larkana (21).

The data, provided in relation with a question asked by Pakistan People’s Party legislator Dr Sikander Shoro, also shows that 5,581 cheating cases were found during the recent examinations and 802 cases of impersonation were also reported, and after evaluation and investigations of each of the cases by the Unfair Means Committee, wrongdoers shall be awarded punishment, including barring from examination from one year to three years.

The data also shows that 10 varsities/ institutes had been set up from 2009 to 2013 and one of them, University of Sufism and Modern Sciences, is not functional.

Published in Dawn, June 20th, 2014