May 21, 2025
By Islam Gul Afridi
KHYBER
The Paseed Khel Government Girls Primary School is the only one for the village Awal Khan’s 12,000 residents. Established in 2008, the institution saw 750 enrolled students by 2023. But now the building has become a tomb for the hopes and dreams of hundreds of girls.
Awal Khan is a small village just a few kilometers from the Afghan border. Despite its lack of educational facilities, it still carries the spirit of learning in its air. The doors of the Government Girls’ Primary School in Paseed Khel are open, but the typical sounds of every classroom – the shouting of the teachers, or the sound of an eager student reading from her book, or the chatter of the back benchers, have all grown silent. Now the emptiness of the halls echoes through the building.
During its heyday, the school had two teachers for its 450 female students, one of whom was transferred to another institution while the other had to pack up and leave after the project she was hired for, ended.
For the past three months, these students have been showing up to school every morning with only one question in mind every time: “Will the teacher be in today?” But each time they return home disappointed.
Halima, a fifth grade student, flips through the pages of her exercise notebook most of which is bare, except a few scribbles decorating half a page ever so often.
“All my friends have left school. I wanted to become a doctor, but now…” she trails off, not wanting to complete the sentence.
‘No girls’ school closed’
There is a stark contradiction between official records and ground realities in Khyber’s education sector. According to government data, 37 girls’ primary schools across the district remain closed due to staff shortages. However, when questioning the District Education Officer, she insisted that no girls’ school is closed in the district.
Currently, only 482 permanent female teachers are appointed for all-female schools. 157 posts remain vacant, while 148 temporary teachers were laid off last June. Internal sources within the department say at least 700 additional teachers are urgently required.
From Mullagori to Awal Khan: a common story
Raqeebullah, who used to send his daughter to the Government Girls Primary School in Mullagori, has no option left other than homeschooling.
“Out of two teachers at our school, one was transferred, and the other was hospitalized,” he shares. “Every day I visit the education department’s office, and the answer is always, ‘There’s a staff shortage’.”
The story is the same in Bara and Landi Kotal’s higher secondary schools, where only 68 teachers cater to 1,130 female students. At the middle school level, the situation is even worse — 231 teachers are responsible for 2,918 girls.
Education in the tribal areas
According to the FATA Education Foundation’s 2024 report, the literacy rate for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa stands at 56%, with the merged tribal districts achieving a dismal %. The rate of education for girls in the province is less than 30%.
Shawas, who volunteers as a teacher in Awal Khan, raises a bitter question: “Is this all just coincidence? When the boys’ schools have teachers, why are all the girls’ schools closed? Is the future of our daughters such a low priority?”
The girls of Khyber district are not just losing classrooms, they are losing their dreams, their autonomy, and the hope for progress in their region. As long as the education department hides behind the excuse of a “staff shortage,” these 37 schools will remain not just buildings, but symbols of injustice.