The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on Friday filed a reference against nine officers of the provincial education department for allegedly recruiting hundreds of "fake" teachers in Balochistan.

Hundreds of fake appointments have been made in Balochistan's education department through illegal means and fake documents, the NAB spokesperson said.

The references were filed at an accountability court in Quetta against after locals filed multiple complaints regarding 'fake' and 'missing teachers'.

The reference was filed against former Balochistan director schools Nizamuddin Mengal, Additional Director of Education Yousaf Kuhda, District Education Officer Muhammad Farooq and Deputy District Education Officer Muhammad Ghufran Ahmed, the NAB official said.

Five officers of the accountant general's office were also among the accused, the spokesperson added.

According to records available with the education department, 60,000 government teachers are employed in the province. However, various findings and surveys revealed that thousands of teachers across Balochistan are either 'ghost' or 'fake'.

There are more than 13,000 government-run primary, middle and high schools in Balochistan. However, Education Minister Rahim Ziaratwal revealed that according to a recent survey conducted by the education department, 1,400 schools were 'missing' in the province.