Since its formation in 1967, the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) has remained a dominant political force in Sindh, holding power in the province for over 26 years. From the early days of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto’s ambitious reforms to the current leadership of Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah, the party has had every opportunity to transform Sindh’s public sector—especially education. However, after more than five decades, the state of the province’s education system paints a bleak picture of missed priorities and persistent neglect.

The PPP’s rise in Sindh began with the 1970 general election, following which Mumtaz Bhutto and then Ghulam Mustafa Jatoi served as chief ministers during a period of foundational reforms under Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. The 1973 Constitution was enacted, promising social progress and public welfare. However, the military coup of 1977 abruptly ended that chapter. In 1988, the PPP returned under Benazir Bhutto, with Qaim Ali Shah as Sindh’s chief minister. Yet, the government was short-lived, dismissed in 1990. A similar pattern repeated in 1993 with Syed Abdullah Shah leading Sindh until the federal PPP government was again dissolved in 1996. After the end of General Musharraf’s regime, the PPP came back with force in 2008. Qaim Ali Shah served two more terms, followed by Murad Ali Shah, who remains in power today. The PPP retained Sindh in both the 2013 and 2018 elections and secured another victory in 2024 despite rising competition in urban centres like Karachi.

Despite this long-standing rule and repeated assurances of democratic values and people-centric governance, the condition of public education in Sindh reveals a deep and structural crisis. In 2024, the province reported a literacy rate of 61.8%, the second highest among provinces, yet far from acceptable for a province governed by the same party for most of its existence. An estimated 6.4 million children in Sindh are out of school. Among the poorest children, 52% remain unenrolled — 58% of them girls. Boys outnumber girls at every educational stage, highlighting entrenched gender disparities that remain unaddressed.

The situation worsens when examining the condition of public schools. Out of approximately 49,000 government schools in Sindh, around 12,444 are completely non-functional. Over 31,000 schools do not have electricity, while 26,260 lack access to safe drinking water. Nearly 19,469 schools have no toilets, and more than 21,000 schools operate without boundary walls, putting the safety of students at risk. As far as academic resources are concerned, 47,000 schools have no science laboratories, and the same number are without libraries. Additionally, more than 36,000 schools do not offer playgrounds, severely limiting students’ physical and extracurricular development.

The infrastructure of schools that are functional is also under serious threat. About 14,977 school buildings require repairs, and 8,426 are in a dilapidated state, unsafe for children to study in. With over 4.5 million students and only 133,000 teachers, the province faces an alarming student-to-teacher ratio, severely compromising the quality of instruction.

In many areas like Malir, Gadap Town, and Manora Island, children attend schools without roofs, electricity, water, or sanitation. Some makeshift structures made of steel sheets are used as classrooms, exposing students to extreme weather conditions. These are not isolated cases — they reflect the norm across many parts of Sindh.

This crisis unfolds despite the Sindh government’s commitment of 27% of its annual budget — approximately Rs208.23 billion — to education. The disconnect between fiscal allocations and on-ground implementation continues to widen. While planning documents like the Sindh Education Sector Plan (SESP) and quality assurance frameworks exist, they remain ineffective due to inadequate financing, poor enforcement of policies, and lack of equitable implementation.

The PPP leadership has long claimed to uphold democratic values and the right to education as a pillar of their governance model. Yet, after decades of uninterrupted rule in Sindh, the ground reality of empty classrooms, crumbling infrastructure, and out-of-school children raises pressing questions about political priorities. The numbers are not just statistics — they represent millions of futures compromised by chronic inaction.

As the party continues its rule into 2025, with Murad Ali Shah once again at the helm, the fate of education in Sindh remains uncertain. Without immediate, accountable, and transparent reforms, PPP’s legacy in Sindh may be remembered not for the promises it made, but for the generations it failed.