Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is known for the land of hospitality with robust culture of mesmerizing landscape. It holds an astonishing history with legendary conquerors and popular for tourism in Pakistan. The province is locating at the Northwestern region of Pakistan.
As per the census report of Pakistan 2017 , KP province comprises 11.9% of of Pakistan’s total population in other words total population of this province is 35 millions includes 52% males and 48% females. The total area of this province is 101,741 km².
This is third literate province of Pakistan with 53% literacy rate. The youth of KP province is complemented with enormous talent and proved themselves with extensive visions and innovative ideas. The youth of this province left no stone unturn to envisioned it one of the key province among other provinces of Pakistan.
The government of this province is trying to unleash their potential by providing employability skills that meets the current scenario of world class education. It is evident that the youth of this province has extensive potential to empower this nation with robust skills and modern education.
As per the annual school census report of KP, there are total 27638 government schools in settled districts of KP in which 27524 are functional while 114 are non-functional . In terms of Primary Education there are total 22006 schools out of them 21896 schools are functional while 110 schools are non-functional.
Among these institutions 761 are Mosque/Maktab schools, (a Mosque/Maktab school is school in worship places. The government funding these schools to empower our childrens with model education. It has been noticed that apart from Mosques there are total 233 schools which deliver education in communities of the province.
The report indicates that in total 22006 primary schools 1309 schools are built in urban areas while 20697 schools have been builtin rural areas of the province. At secondary level of education, there are total 5632 schools of them 5628 are functional while four schools are non-functional. For complete statistic of these schools, please view below table.
Source: Annual school census Report of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 2020-21
It is astounding to know that majority of schools at this province are deprived from basic needs like clean water, bathroom facilities, laboratories and libraries etc. It has also been noticed that majority of schools in rural areas are overcrowded with less teachers.
It is heartfelt news to know that page no 16 of Annual School Census report of settled district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 2020-21, indicates that there are total 130 librarians among all 155838 teaching staff. It seems that there are only few libraries in these schools.
Libraries are viewed as a central and integral part of the teaching and learning process within the schools. It is quite undoubtedly that schools without libraries may never grow in the right direction. There are many schools which does not have proper classrooms, and very few schools have libraries however, senior teachers converted them into offices or classrooms.
Though the KP Government is enduring for building and infrastructure of these schools, nevertheless for libraries they have not granted proper budget which is a question mark. Government should take keen interest in libray buildings to promote reading habits.
The writer is Deputy Director Library at the Institute of Strategic Studies Islamabad, he can be reached at abidhussain@issi.org.pk
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