ISLAMABAD, Feb 11: The Supreme Court constituted on Monday a commission comprising district and sessions judges to investigate ‘ghost’ schools and ascertain reasons for state’s apathy towards government schools and institutions.

A three-judge headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry asked members of the commission to conduct surveys in their areas to ascertain the number of non-functional and ghost schools and their conversion into cattle pen. They are required to submit their reports in a month.

Although the hearing was about a case relating to the plight of girl students who were forced to sit beside graves in Gujranwala, it ended up with the issuance of a detailed order on the overall state of affairs in education departments across the country. The case has been pending before the court for more than a year.

“Given the pathetic situation of schools, especially in rural Sindh where many of them have been turned into cattle pen, it looks as if all people in the province have become educated and now it is the turn of the cattle to read,” regretted Mr Rehmatullah, coordinator of the Sindh Rural Development Society, who appeared before the court on his own.

The harrowing details of the condition of education in Sindh visibly disturbed the bench which asked why the authorities did not consider children of government schools as their own children.

Mr Rehmatullah alleged that most of the teachers in rural Sindh never went to their schools, although they regularly got their salary. He cited the example of a high school in Ghotki district which had remained closed over the past five years and except for two teachers all others had gone on deputation.

The two teachers came to the school twice a year, he said, adding that local education officers paid no heed to a number of complaints in this regard because they had been appointed on political affiliations.

“The children of most of the teachers are studying in private schools in different cities,” Mr Rehmatullah said, adding that in tehsil Matyari alone 60,000 children never went to schools, while a school in tehsil Jati had been made a police station.

“We have failed to understand why the executive authorities are reluctant to improve the educational system of the country when a number of schools are being abandoned for one reason or the other but monthly salaries are being dispersed,” the court said in its order. “Why laws are not being made when the right to education from five to 15 years is compulsory and a fundament right under the 18th Constitution Amendment,” the chief justice observed. He said education was the most important social service and the government was duty bound to provide education to all children.

The district and sessions judges are required to investigate how much funds are being spent in the name of imparting education, what is the ratio of students attending schools, how many schools have been occupied forcibly by influential people and what are the reasons for converting schools into lounges and guest houses.

They will also investigate why the education department did not take back possessions of the occupied schools and if the authorities did take action why it has not been pursued vigorously or expedited and who is responsible for this.

The presidents and secretaries of district and tehsil bar associations will assist the judicial officers in conducting inspections of government schools and preparing reports which will be submitted to the provincial high courts.

The chief secretaries and education secretaries of the provinces are also required to support the judicial officers in the exercise.

Additional Advocate General of Punjab Jawwad Hassan informed the court that 266 schools in the province were under illegal occupation, although necessary orders had been issued to take back their possession. Nine kanals of land of a school in Moghalpura, Lahore, had been encroached upon and houses constructed there, he added.

The chief justice regretted that Rangers had occupied a school in Lahore.

The case will be taken up on March 18.