These 11,000 'ghost schools' in Pakistan's Sindh have turned into guesthouses with no students to teach. Here's why

Ever heard of ghost schools? There are about 11,000 of them in the Sindh province of Pakistan alone and the situation is scarier than any horror movie. The teachers here come to work don't have anything to do simply because there are no students to teach. The teachers serving in these schools draw reasonable salaries without any work to do.

A recent report published in The Express Tribune said these schools are proving to be a burden on the state's limited resources. The wages for these teachers are making up a whopping salary bill.  The report said influential people are using these schools as their guest houses as no student is coming to these schools.

According to the Tribune, there are 1.8 schools for every 1,000 students in rural Sindh. A mere 15 per cent primary and middle schools have two teachers. Not just that, the schools are also devoid of basic facilities. A big number of schools do not have adequate facilities like drinking water, toilets, playgrounds and boundary walls.

Sindh schools were gaining school enrolment however the number now is stagnant. The government needs to focus on increasing the number of schools in the province — especially the secondary schools which number a little above 2,000 as against around 49,000 primary schools, the report said. Critics have asked the Sindh government to look for improving the standard of education in government schools by engaging quality teachers offering them better salaries and providing all the fundamental facilities. It should at least provide the basic facilities if not the high-tech ones available in developed countries of the world, The Express Tribune reported.