MIANWALI, July 26: The secondary school examination results announced a couple of weeks ago once again portray poor state of education in this region of the Punjab.

The area falls in Sargodha Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education comprising districts of Sargodha, Mianwali, Bhakkar and Khushab. Of the 62,436 candidates, 28,912 could pass the exam.

In Mianwali district a vast majority of students study in state-run schools as poverty-ridden parents cannot afford heavy fees of private sector schools.

The government schools, as elsewhere in Pakistan, are in bad shape from every aspect. The major reason of this academic decline is political intervention, as all administrative postings are the ‘achievements’ of local politicians.

The are complaints that public representatives, including nazims and ministers, victimized teachers who had supported their rivals during the last elections.

Headmasters sitting under political umbrella ruthlessly expel ‘week’ students from their regular school rolls and send their admission as ‘private students’ in an effort to show better results. But this illegal practice could not produce satisfactory results.