The school bell may ring across Sindh, but for millions of children, the journey to a classroom remains a distant dream. In some villages, the nearest school is too far to reach. In others, buildings stand without drinking water, electricity or proper toilets. For children who manage to enrol, absent teachers, poor learning conditions and examination malpractice can undermine the very purpose of education.
This is the troubling paradox at the heart of Sindh’s education crisis: despite substantial public spending and repeated reform pledges, millions of children remain outside the formal school system, while many who attend school struggle to receive a meaningful education.
The Pakistan Bureau of Statistics’ Household Integrated Economic Survey 2024-25 puts Sindh’s out-of-school rate at 39 per cent among children aged five to 16, down from 42pc in 2018-19. The gender gap remains significant: 44pc of girls and 35pc of boys are out of school. In July 2026, a senior education official put the number of children excluded from formal education at approximately 7.6 million, underscoring the scale of the challenge.
Behind these figures are children whose futures are shaped by where they are born. In remote villages of Tharparkar, Dadu, Jacobabad and other underserved districts, the absence of a nearby functional school can determine whether a child receives an education at all. For girls, long distances, safety concerns, inadequate sanitation and shortages of female teachers can create additional barriers. Poverty and child labour further narrow the choices available to families struggling to make ends meet.
The infrastructure deficit makes the situation worse. Findings from Sindh’s Economic Survey 2025-26, reported in June, indicated that only 32pc of public schools had electricity. Figures presented by the provincial education minister to the Sindh Assembly showed that, among 40,978 assessed government schools, 26,006 had drinking water, 13,013 electricity, 17,136 toilets and 20,913 boundary walls.
The deficiencies are particularly stark in rural districts. A school census report on Dadu, published in November 2025, identified 72 schools without buildings and 33 operating under trees. Of the district’s schools, 439 buildings had been declared dangerous, while 843 lacked drinking water, 826 had no electricity and 268 had no toilets. The report also identified 49 completely closed schools and 20 closed temporary schools.
For children studying in such conditions, equal educational opportunity remains an empty promise. Extreme heat, unsafe buildings and inadequate sanitation make attendance difficult, while the absence of basic facilities undermines learning and dignity.
Yet the crisis cannot be solved simply by constructing more buildings. Sindh has also struggled with teacher attendance, school management and accountability. A monitoring report cited in the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan’s report on the state of human rights in 2024 identified 6,342 alleged ghost teachers on the government payroll and recommended action, including freezing salaries and initiating legal proceedings. The figure highlights a serious accountability concern but should not be interpreted as a verified count of teachers currently absent from duty.
The distinction is important. Some schools are closed or exist largely on paper; others operate with inadequate resources, while some have buildings and teachers but fail to deliver effective learning. Each problem demands reliable monitoring and a targeted response.
In major cities, the crisis takes a different form. Karachi’s matriculation examinations in April 2026 faced allegations of cheating, paper leaks and administrative irregularities. Videos circulated on social media showing candidates using mobile phones and copying from notes. The Board of Secondary Education Karachi reported that hundreds of students had been caught cheating and announced disciplinary action against some examination-centre officials.
Sindh Education Minister Syed Sardar Ali Shah acknowledged in September 2026 that the challenge of out-of-school children could not be addressed by the Education Department alone. Speaking at an International Literacy Day event, he cited poverty, population growth and the limited involvement of other sectors as major obstacles, calling for sustained investment and a clearer federal role in supporting provincial efforts.
According to the minister, around 1.6 million children are born in Sindh annually, creating a need for approximately 30,000 new classrooms each year, based on Population Council data he cited. The figures illustrate the pressure on a system that must expand access while improving the quality of existing schools.
The provincial government has allocated approximately Rs620 billion to education in its 2026-27 budget, including Rs25.86 billion for education development schemes. The government has also announced technology-based attendance monitoring and other initiatives to improve enrolment and school management. The real test, however, is whether spending translates into functioning classrooms, present teachers, adequate facilities and measurable improvements in learning.
There are encouraging signs. In October 2026, the education minister said non-formal education initiatives had connected nearly 100,000 out-of-school children to learning through 1,880 centres across six districts since April 2025. The department had also distributed 1,000 digital tablets to facilitators to support teaching, communication and attendance monitoring.
Chiho Ohashi, chief adviser for Education and Literacy at the Japan International Cooperation Agency in Pakistan, said the tablets would improve facilitators’ access to teaching materials and enable more interactive learning. They could also support online training and professional development. However, technology cannot substitute for qualified teachers, adequate facilities or a coherent pathway into sustained education.
In August 2026, the Sindh government and the United Nations reaffirmed their commitment to a five-year plan focusing on enrolment, retention and learning quality. Its success will depend on measurable targets, transparent reporting and consistent implementation rather than announcements alone.
Reform must address access and accountability simultaneously. Rural schools need safe buildings, drinking water, toilets, electricity and sufficient teachers. Authorities must establish which schools are operational, which require urgent repairs and where alternative learning arrangements are necessary. Teacher attendance systems should be independently verified, while recruitment, transfers and promotions must be protected from political interference. Communities should have accessible channels to report absent staff, missing facilities and misuse of funds.
In urban centres, examination boards need stronger paper security, effective supervision and prompt investigations into malpractice. Findings should be made public, and penalties applied consistently. Students must be assessed on what they have learned, not merely on whether they have completed a syllabus or sat an examination.
Most importantly, success must be measured beyond enrolment. A child registered at school but absent for months is not receiving an education. Nor is a pupil who attends regularly but cannot read an age-appropriate passage or perform basic arithmetic. Attendance, retention, foundational learning and completion rates must become central measures of performance.
The consequences extend far beyond classrooms. Children denied education face greater risks of poverty and exploitation, while Sindh loses future professionals, skilled workers and entrepreneurs. Girls excluded from schooling face particularly severe restrictions on their economic and social opportunities.
Sindh does not lack evidence of its education crisis or proposals to address it. What remains essential is the political commitment to implement reforms, the administrative discipline to monitor results and the willingness to hold those responsible accountable.
For children still waiting for a meaningful education, progress will not be measured by another budget announcement or inauguration ceremony. It will mean a functioning school within reach, a teacher in the classroom, a safe place to learn and the knowledge that attending school offers a genuine path to a better future. Until these conditions become the norm, Sindh’s promise of education for all will remain unfinished.