MOHMAND: Local government representatives in Mohmand district have sounded alarm over what they describe as a ‘systematic collapse’ of women education in the region, citing the closure of 24 government girls’ schools in upper and lower Mohmand due to staff shortages and alleged corruption.

Speaking at a news conference at the Mohmand Press Club on Monday, members of the village council chairmen committee, including Haji Naqab Shah, Dr Majeed, Akbar Khan, Shoaib, Hassan Sardar, Malik Asfandiyar, Mustamal Shah, Maulana Hikmat Shah, and Qari Sajid, accused the district education officer (women) of administrative misconduct and misuse of authority.

They alleged that around 70 women teachers had been illegally transferred to other districts on the basis of influence and personal connections, leaving several schools in Mohmand without any functioning teaching staff.

They further revealed that two women teachers, absent for the last eight years and currently residing abroad, continued to draw salaries, with payments processed up to March 2025.

In addition, they alleged that the DEO reportedly forcibly retired 21 Class-IV employees and subsequently reinstated eight of them through bribery.

They claimed she had deliberately avoided tehsil council meetings and failed to designate a representative to respond to concerns about education, particularly in relation to female students.

They also highlighted the deplorable condition of girls’ education in Ambar tehsil, where out of three newly established girls’ primary schools intended to serve a population of over 87,000, two remain closed while the third operates with just one teacher.

“There is no fairness in the deployment of teaching staff,” said a council member. “In some functioning schools, there are more teachers than students, while others remain completely abandoned.”

The council members further alleged that teaching staff were regularly informed in advance of Education Monitoring Authority visits, giving them time to fabricate the appearance of compliance, thereby undermining the transparency of school inspections.

Despite repeated appeals and formal correspondence with the education department and district administration, the local government representatives claimed no concrete action had been taken.

They warned if the government failed to take urgent steps to reactivate the closed schools and hold responsible officials accountable, they would launch a district-wide protest movement.

Published in Dawn, June 4th, 2025