Funding and staff shortages: Worries as 23 girls primary schools remain shut in Landikotal

LANDIKOTAL: The future of hundreds of girls’ education hangs in the balance as 23 government-run girls’ primary schools remain shut due to acute shortages of funding, teaching staff and administrative oversight in different localities in Landikotal tehsil, officials said on Sunday.

Assistant Sub-Divisional Education Officer (ASDEO) officer Inayat Khan Afridi told this scribe that the closures of girls schools in areas like Loe Shalman, Kam Shalman, Bazaar Zakhakhel and central Landikotal have deprived hundreds of young girls of their fundamental right to education.

Inayat Khan Afridi said these schools were once operational under the Primary School Teacher (PST) programme. However, due to the discontinuation of financial assistance and absence of new teacher recruitment, many schools have been locked for months, some even years.

He said in several remaining operational schools, a single female teacher was left juggling multiple grades, often without textbooks, furniture, or basic facilities.The shuttered institutions include government girls’ primary schools in different localities are GGPS Imroz, GGPS Subedar Minadar Killay, GGPS Hajatmir Killay Pirokhel,GGPS Awal Khan Killay,GGPS Prangdara Loey Shalman,GGPS Zolfiqar Killay,GGPS Alamkhel Killay Bazar Zakhakhel,GGPS Zulfiqar Killay, GGPS Alamkhel, GGPS Gulabnoor Killay,GGPS Misal Khan Killay, GGPS Muhammad Umar Killay, GGPS Pasedkhel, GGMS Ghanikhel,GGPS Zargul Sarobi, GGPS Malik Nisarmir Killay, GGPS Subedsr Noor Muhmmad Killay and GGPS Hssan Jan Bacha Killay.

Other nonfunctional schools scattered across Bazaar Zakhakhel, including those in Umar Killay Turkistan, Munshi Killay and Alamkhel.“Education is the backbone of any society, yet our daughters are being denied this basic right,” said a visibly frustrated resident of Kam Shalman. “We were told an education emergency had been declared after the Fata merger, but nothing has changed on the ground,” said the official.

Despite repeated promises of reform and upliftment after the 2018 merger of the tribal areas with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the residents argued that the provincial government has failed to live up to its commitments. The ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), which governed the province for over a decade, has come under fire for neglecting tribal regions like Khyber district, residents complained. The assistant education officer said teachers who were once appointed under temporary arrangements claim they have not received salaries in months. Many have left due to frustration and lack of support, he added.

Inayat Afridi said that female teachers posted at certain schools were transferred within months of joining, often due to the influence of political figures. “This frequent reshuffling disrupted the continuity of education in these institutions.”

He added that in some cases, school owners themselves arranged for female teachers, paying them modest salaries ranging from Rs10,000 to 12,000. However, these teachers lacked proper education and training, which affected the quality of teaching.

Afridi expressed concern that the absence of qualified and trained teachers led to the dropout of more than 3,000 girls from schools. As a result, the doors of several schools had to be shut, further limiting educational opportunities for girls.

Rumors on the other hand circulating among locals that funds meant for tribal education might have been misused or misallocated. “Are teachers still drawing salaries for nonfunctional schools, or have the funds disappeared into administrative black holes?” a local resident asked education officials.

The lack of middle and high schools in places like Shalman, Tirah and Bazaar Zakhakhel further compounds the crisis, making it nearly impossible for girls to continue education beyond the primary level.

In an official statement, local education officials admitted the closures but blamed the lack of budget allocations and pending approvals for new appointments. However, no clear timeline was offered for reopening the schools or restoring educational services.