KHYBER: A long delay by the education department in addressing the shortage of female teachers in public schools is hampering enrolment of out-of-school girl students in the Khyber tribal district.
Official sources in Bara and Landi Kotal said that at present, only one female teacher was available for over 100 girl students in a school, with primary schools for girls also facing classroom shortages.
They added that those issues were the major reasons for low enrolment of students in schools.
The education department shut down 22 out of the total 60 girl schools in Landi Kotal in May due to the continuous absence of female staff members, which forced enrolled girls to abandon education.
Only one female educator for over 100 girl students, say officials
However, the schools were reopened after the summer vacation with the education department deputing just one female teacher in every school and inviting applications for new girl admissions.
However, officials of the education department contended that the appointment of 22 female teachers in similar number of closed schools had yet to deliver the required results.
They said the student enrolment was below average as most parents were not quite confident about the future of those schools.
The officials said that in Bara, too, schools had just 310 female teachers for a total of 31,500 girl students, with some schools being in the danger of being closed down.
Officials in Landi Kotal said the Unicef recently sanctioned funds for acquiring teachers for middle grade under a three-year project.
They said similar assistance was required from both government and international donor agencies to hire female staff members for primary schools.
The officials said that Landi Kotal faced official apathy, so it had the lowest enrolment rate in the entire district with girls being the ultimate sufferers.
“We demand the appointment of at least two teachers to a school in order to attract the maximum number of girl students and meet enrolment target,” an official said.
He said the chief minister should take notice of the issue as he belonged to the Khyber tribal district and was aware of the issue.
Meanwhile, the Pak Shinwari Football Club won the Independence Day Football Tournament in Landi Kotal here on Wednesday by defeating rival Shinwari Sturi in the final match.
The stipulated time ended in a goal-less draw, which was followed by a penalty shootout in which Pak Shinwari Club won the tournament by three goals to two in front of a capacity crowd of around 60,000 people.
Commandant Khyber Rifles Colonel Saeed distributed cash prizes and trophies among the winner and runner up teams.
The tournament started on August 14 and was also dedicated to two local late football players Hassamuddin and Liaqat Ali.
Around 60 teams from around the province participated in the two-month-long tournament which attracted huge crowds and remained a healthy entertainment for local youth and older generation alike.
Published in Dawn, November 6th, 2025.
