NAWABSHAH, July 20: Education EDO Rafique Ahmed Siddiqui told members at a session of the district council held here at the Pir Qurban Ali hall on Tuesday that 204 out of a total of 2,228 primary schools were lying closed in the district.

At the session chaired by convener Khalid Hussain Channa, the EDO said that 126,000 students were enrolled in primary schools of the district - 1,882 for boys and 346 for girls.

He said that it would take some time to reopen the schools as there was a shortage of teaching staff, however, he added, the schools could be reopened through redeployment.

Regarding salaries of the staff of model community schools, he said that their salaries had been paid through crossed cheques and, moreover, all of the 28 schools were functioning.

Union council nazims Rajab Ali Lund, Riaz Zardari, Ghulam Shah Leghari, Sattar Qureshi and Mohammad Hassan Bhatti, disagreeing with the figure given by the EDO, said that a larger number of schools were closed. Funds of school management committees were being misused, 'ghost' teachers were getting salaries and nazims were not being taken into confidence, they complained.