PESHAWAR: The recently announced matriculation results under the Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education (BISE) Peshawar paint a bleak picture of learning outcomes in government schools, raising serious concerns about the government’s commitment to its own promise of prioritizing education.
While the PTI-led administration boasts about increasing the education budget and introducing reforms, the ground reality tells a different story. The 2025 metric results have exposed the collapse of the public schooling system, especially in rural and peri-urban areas. Of the 91,589 students who appeared for the matric exams, 76,484 passed, while 14,530 failed.
Although the overall passing rate stood at 83.5 per cent, the deeper figures are distressing with at least 49 government schools reporting a zero per cent passing rate and 42 schools reporting only one passing student. Similarly, across several girls’ high schools, not a single student was able to clear the exams.
This educational downfall comes despite a significant financial investment. The K-P government allocated a whopping amount of Rs326.9 billion for elementary and secondary education in the 2024-25 budgets. However, over Rs292 billion was allocated to non-development expenditures, mainly salaries.
“The PTI government has used education as a slogan to win elections. But when you look at the practical outcomes, it is clear that they are busy with protests and social media campaigns, not fixing schools,” highlighted Professor Shah Nawaz Khan, lecturer of political science at the Islamia College Peshawar.
According to a recent assessment carried out by the Education Network, over 70 percent of government teachers in K-P have not received any training in the past five years, while only 38 percent have adopted student-centered teaching methods.
“The government has poured money into salaries, but it hasn’t invested in accountability, teacher training, or monitoring systems. They pay substantial salaries but have no mechanism to track if the teachers are even teaching,” said an official from the Education Department on the condition of anonymity.
Drawing a comparison between public and private schools, private school teachers claimed that even under tough circumstances, they were obliged to deliver results. “We don’t have air conditioners, our classes are overcrowded, and we are underpaid. But we are held accountable. If our students fail, we face consequences. In government schools, there are no such pressures,” said Sana Ahmed, a private school teacher from Hayatabad.
“Education is not a priority anymore and is only used for photo ops. When thousands of students fail, no one shows up to take responsibility. When even government teachers enroll their children in private schools how can we expect ministers to admit their children into government schools. Given such an abysmal situation, it is pointless to allocate a huge portion of our taxes for the education sector. Schools and teachers should take responsibility for their poor performance,” said Ayub Khan, an education activist working for a non-governmental organization.
In response to the backlash, Chairman Peshawar Board claimed that for the first time the Peshawar Board had conducted fair and transparent exams across the province.
Conversely, the Minister for Elementary and Secondary Education Faisal Khan Tarkai reiterated the K-P government’s commitment to education, assuring that the department was working towards monitoring the performance of teachers and school.
News published in Express Tribune on August 26, 2025.
