Education on hold for 230,000 children in flood-affected Sindh

ISLAMABAD: Children are bearing the brunt of extreme weather in Sindh with 230,000 students affected by school closures due to devastating monsoon floods that have swept through the southern part of the country.

Of over 1,300 damaged schools, 228 have been destroyed. Over 450 are not functional due to standing flood water, according to the latest data from Sindh’s Education Department, with an immediate impact on children’s learning.

“From heatwaves to floods, children are repeatedly being locked out of learning due to climate shocks. Pakistan, already in the grip of an education emergency with 26.2 million children out of school, cannot afford more learning losses,” said UNICEF Representative in Pakistan Abdullah Fadil. “We hope that the rainwater subsides quickly, and children return to their classrooms. We fear that prolonged school closures make it less likely for them to return.”

Since 1 July, the monsoon has claimed 76 lives across the province, half of whom were children. Swollen rivers have submerged homes across Sindh in southern Pakistan displacing 140,000 children and families in 10 calamity-hit districts. UNICEF teams are conducting rapid needs assessments and coordinating closely with government and local partners on immediate and longer-term response plans to restore education access and ensure early recovery for affected communities.

Sindh was the most affected province during the devastating floods of 2022 with critical infrastructure including health and education facilities destroyed virtually overnight. Still reeling, communities again find themselves on the frontlines of extreme weather, with children paying a high price. “The monsoon has once again upended lives across Pakistan. Children have lost their lives, homes and schools,” added Fadil. “We need urgent investment in climate-resilient education and services for children. We need to build a coalition of partners to innovate, adapt and mitigate in this climate-vulnerable country and find lasting solutions for children in a changed and changing climate.”

Pakistan ranks 14th out of 163 countries on UNICEF’s Children’s Climate Risk Index, with children at ‘extremely high risk’ of the impacts of climate change and environmental shocks, threatening their health, education and futures.