IN THE SUPREME COURT OF PAKISTAN 
(Original Jurisdiction) 
 
 
 
 
PRESENT: 
 
MR. JUSTICE IFTIKHAR MUHAMMAD CHAUDHRY, C.J 
MR. JUSTICE IJAZ AHMED CHAUDHRY 
MR. JUSTICE GULZAR AHMED 
 
 
CONSTITUTION PETITION NO. 37 OF 2012 
(Petition Regarding Miserable Condition of the Schools) 
 
 
 
For the Applicants 
 
Mr. Nazir Ahmed Bhutta, ASC (in CMA 1386/13) 
Nemo (in CMA 300/13) 
 
 
 
 
 
Mr. Saleem Tariq Lone (in CMA 11/13) 
 
 
 
 
 
Mr. Zulfiqar Hussain Noon (in CMA 14/13) 
 
ON COURT NOTICE: 
 
For ICT & Secy. CADD  
Mr. Babar Ali, DAG 
 
 
 
 
 
Mr. Muhammad Shahid Khan,  
 
 
 
 
 
Mr. Miraj Muhammad Khan, AEA, CADD 
 
 
 
 
 
Director Admn. FDE 
 
 
 
 
 
 
For Govt. of Balochistan 
Mr. Abdul Aziz Khan Khiljee, Addl. AG 
 
 
 
 
 
Syed Nazir Shah, Dy. Sec. 
 
 
 
 
 
Saleem Akhtar Ansari, Dir. Education 
 
For Govt. of KPK  
 
Mr. Naveed Akhtar, Addl. AG 
 
 
 
 
 
Mr. Hidayat Ullah, SO (Litigation) 
 
 
For Govt. of Sindh 
 
Mr. Muhammad Qasim Mirjat, Addl. AG 
 
 
 
 
 
Mr. Pervaiz Ahmad, Special Secretary Edu. 
 
For Govt. of Punjab  
 
Mr. Jawad Hassan, Addl. A.G. 
 
 
 
 
 
Mr. Abrar Ahmad Mirza, Addl. Secy. 
 
 
 
 
 
Rana Abdul Qayyum, Director 
 
 
 
 
 
Raja Ikram Abbasi Law Officer 
 
Date of hearing   
:  
12.06.2013   
 
 
ORDER 
 
 
 
 
 
IFTIKHAR MUHAMMAD CHAUDHRY, C.J. – Professor 
Dr. Gulzar A. Niazi from USA wrote a letter dated 20.04.2012 to one of 
us (Chief Justice of Pakistan) which reads as under: -  
CONST.P. 37/2012 
 
2 
“Attached is a picture from the front page of Daily Dawn 
dated April 20, 2012, that is not only shocking, horrible 
but full of shame.  
 
Billions of rupees were spent to distribute laptops to 
students which is a unique example and the VC of Punjab 
University sanctioned 30 million rupees to distribute JUST 
30 laptops by Nawaz Sharif.  
 
But here is a heart breaking picture which shows that the 
government has totally failed in providing the basic 
education. Have you ever heard that students are being 
taught in a classroom in a graveyard? 
 
What can you do; I guess nothing.  
 
Respectfully, 
Sd/- 
Professor Dr. Gulzar Niazi”  
 
The news report contained a picture from Gujranwala with the 
following footnote: -  
“Gujranwala: Girls sit beside graves whilst taking a test 
during their daily classes in the graveyard here on 
Thursday. The government allocates less than four per 
cent of the budget … … … more than 180 million people.”   
 
The above letter was ordered to be treated as a Constitution Petition 
under Article 184(3) of the Constitution and to be fixed in Court on 
16.05.2012 and notices were issued to Chief Secretary, Secretary 
Education and learned Advocate General Punjab. The latter was 
directed to visit the Girls School shown in the picture and submit 
report.   
 
 
 
2. 
 
On 07.06.2012, the learned Advocate General Punjab 
appeared and filed a report stating therein that the Government of 
Punjab had taken an initiative to provide adequate building facilities to 
CONST.P. 37/2012 
 
3 
the schools, which were short of classrooms. He further stated that 
such school buildings had been identified throughout the Province and 
a considerable amount had been allocated for the purpose. Thereupon, 
he was directed to place on record district-wise complete details in 
that behalf. Furthermore, notices were ordered to be issued to the 
Chief Secretaries of the Provinces of Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and 
Balochistan to submit comprehensive reports on the conditions of 
primary schools functioning in different parts of their respective 
Provinces as under: -  
(i) 
Whether sufficient accommodation is available 
in the constructed buildings?  
(ii) 
Whether adequate teaching staff and other 
facilities have been provided in schools?  
(iii) 
Whether the school buildings in remote areas 
are being used for other purposes i.e. as Hujra, 
baithak/authak and Mehmankhana of the local 
respectables?   
 
3. 
 
On 08.08.2012, reports were submitted on behalf of the 
Provincial Governments and it was stated that the proposals for 
legislation of compulsory education in pursuance of Article 25A of the 
Constitution were under consideration of the Provincial Governments 
and the bills to the said effect were likely to be tabled before the 
Provincial Assemblies. However, the matter was adjourned to enable 
the Provincial Governments to reconsider the reports and put up a 
final report after attending to all aspects.  
 
4. 
 
On 10.09.2012, another opportunity was granted to the 
Provincial Governments to file comprehensive reports after physical 
verification of schools by an officer not below the rank of Grade 20 
posted in the Division.  
 
5. 
 
On 05.10.2012, a report was submitted on behalf of the 
Province of Sindh, which showed that 165 schools were not being 
CONST.P. 37/2012 
 
4 
used for education purposes. On the said date, the learned law 
officers as well as the departmental representatives of the Provinces 
were required to clarify whether the periodical reports submitted to 
the Government were prepared after physical inspection/spot 
verification.     
   
6. 
 
On 
02.11.2012, 
this 
Court 
directed 
the 
concerned 
Secretaries of the Provinces as well as the Chief Commissioner, 
Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) to submit report on the following 
points: -  
(i) 
The steps which have been taken so far to 
enforce Article 25A of the Constitution?  
(ii) 
As to whether any enrolment of children aged 
5 to 16 years has been made for the purpose of 
providing them education free of cost in terms of 
Article 25A of the Constitution?  
(iii) 
How many ghost schools have been identified 
in all the Provinces and what steps have been taken 
in this behalf?  
(iv) 
What steps have been taken to take over the 
possession of the school buildings, which are being 
used by influential persons for purposes other than 
education?  
 
It was further directed that the reports must be based on a field 
survey duly authenticated by the competent authority considering that 
Article 25A of the Constitution has envisaged a Fundamental Right for 
the children of 5 to 16 years age to get free education.  
 
7. 
 
On 13.12.2012, the requisite reports not having been 
submitted, the Chief Secretaries of all the Provinces, the Chief 
Commissioner, ICT and the Secretary, Capital Administration and 
Development Division (CADD), Government of Pakistan were again 
directed to submit comprehensive reports.  
 
8. 
 
On 11.02.2013, the Court observed that all the reports 
filed by then, on the state of affairs of educational institutions were 
CONST.P. 37/2012 
 
5 
incorrect and baseless, and only some credible information was 
received through the Coordinator, Sindh Rural Development Society. It 
was observed that ghost schools admittedly existed in all the Provinces 
and the properties owned by the schools were under illegal occupation, 
but no effective steps were being taken to redeem this situation. In 
this view of the matter, the Provincial Governments through Chief 
Secretaries or the Secretaries Education were directed to implement 
the orders of the Court in letter and spirit.  
 
 
In view of importance of the matter, namely, receiving 
education is a Fundamental Right of every children particularly in view 
of article 25A of the Constitution, the District & Sessions Judges or the 
Additional District & Sessions Judges at the District/Tehsil/Taluqa 
Headquarters of all the Provinces including ICT were appointed as 
Commissions to carry out surveys of the schools functioning within 
their jurisdiction and determine: -   
(i) 
As to how many schools are functioning fully? 
(ii) 
As to how many ghost schools are in their districts? 
(iii) 
As to how much of the education funds are being spent for 
the purpose of imparting education to the children?  
(iv) 
As to what is the ratio of the children studying in their 
areas?  
(v) 
As to what are the reasons for encroachments of the said 
school buildings and why they are being used either as 
Baithak/Uthak or for the purpose of houses by occupying 
forcibly some portions of the same and why actions against 
encroachers have not been taken? and  
(vi) 
In 
case 
there 
exists 
litigation 
between 
education 
department(s) and private person(s), who had allegedly 
encroached upon the properties of schools, as to why the 
cases are not being expedited by the Courts, particularly, 
in view of the fact that if there is no stay order, why 
actions have not been taken and who are responsible for 
all these illegalities or irregularities?   
 
It was also directed that the President or the Secretary General of the 
respective District/Tehsil Bar Association shall also be associated, if 
need be, while carrying out the physical inspection and preparation of 
reports. Moreover, the Chief Secretaries/Secretaries Education and the 
CONST.P. 37/2012 
 
6 
District Education Officers were directed to extend full cooperation to 
the District & Sessions Judges in accomplishing the task assigned to 
them.  
 
9. 
 
The Court, on receipt of voluminous reports from the 
judicial officers prepared after visiting all schools within their 
respective jurisdiction, vide order dated 10.06.2013, directed the 
concerned law officers to prepare summaries of the reports pertaining 
to their respective Province/Territory and answer, in positive or in the 
negative, the questions referred to the judicial officers, noted 
hereinabove.  
ISALAMABAD 
 
10. 
 
Raja Jawad Abbas Hassan, District & Sessions Judge-West 
and Syed Kausar Abbas Zaidi, District & Sessions Judge-East, 
Islamabad submitted a combined report, wherein it was stated that a 
team comprising four Additional District & Sessions Judges along with 
President and Secretary, District Bar Association, Islamabad was 
constituted to carry out the requisite exercise. In response to question 
No. 1, the learned District & Sessions Judges reported as under: -   
(i) 
According to the survey conducted by above said team, it 
was found that a total number of 383 schools only 
(excluding 
colleges) 
are 
functioning 
under 
Federal 
Directorate of Education in urban as well as rural areas of 
Islamabad Capital Territory. All the Schools were physically 
visited and verified by the Team members.  
(ii) 
Most of the schools in Federal Capital are in working 
condition, but there are quite a few schools where all the 
facilities are available as per requirement in full capacity. 
However, in most of the schools due to paucity of funds or 
lack of interest by the Federal Directorate of Education, the 
required facilities are lacking. 
(iii) 
Almost all the schools are working without full facilities and 
teaching staff is also deficient. Most of the schools have 
been 
up-graded 
but 
in 
papers 
only. 
The 
Principals/Headmasters/Headmistresses 
are 
facing 
difficulties in managing and running the schools with old 
staff and in the old buildings. 
CONST.P. 37/2012 
 
7 
(iv) 
There are some common problems of the schools in rural 
areas, like shortage of staff, shortage/non-availability of 
drinking water and non-availability of boundary walls. It is 
pertinent to mention here that in city schools teaching staff 
is surplus and the teachers who are residents of city area 
or from other areas of the country do not like to be posted 
in the rural areas, therefore, they manage by hook or by 
crook to remain in city. That shortage of staff can be dealt 
with by appointing local teachers in the rural areas. 
(v) 
Islamabad Model School for Boys (1-5) Mal, Federal Area, 
Islamabad is not working and its building is vacant 
because the same has been surrounded by Bahria Enclave, 
thus stopping the approach from three sides and no 
education activities are being carried out in that school.  
(vi) 
IMSB, (1-5) Rajwal, Federal Area, Islamabad although is 
working presently, but it is surrounded by Bahria Town and 
from all the sides by bulldozing and digging the land, 
access of students to this school has been made difficult 
rather impossible and if the situation is not handled in 
future, 
there is 
every likelihood 
of 
suspension 
of 
educational activities in the said school.  
(vii) IMSB (1-5) Dhoke Maie Nawab, Federal Area, Islamabad is 
being run in a temporary building. Original building of the 
school is surrounded by Bahria Town and access of 
children and staff was made impossible, hence a 
temporary building is in use of this school.  
 
11. 
 
In response to question No. 2, it was stated that after 
physical verification of the schools, no ghost schools were found in the 
ICT.   
 
12. 
 
As regards question No. 3, it was stated that as per details 
furnished by the Federal Directorate of Education, an amount of 
Rs.287,451,363/- was allocated during the financial year 2012-13 for 
running 383 schools in ICT. However, the ratio of funds being spent on 
education of children has not been given.  
 
13. 
 
As regards question No. 4, it was stated that ratio of 
children studying in the Government Schools in ICT is very low as 
compared to those who are studying in private institutions, probably 
due to poor standards/performance of the Government owned schools. 
However, they did not give the exact figures in this behalf.  
 
CONST.P. 37/2012 
 
8 
14. 
 
On question No. 5 pertaining to encroachments upon 
schools’ premises, or the schools’ buildings being used for purposes 
other than education, it was stated as under: -   
(i) 
There is no boundary wall and passage to 
Dhola Syedan School. 
(ii) 
The boundary wall of Phulgraan Girls School is 
deteriorated and passage is in such a miserable 
condition that in rainy days, children cannot go to 
school.  
(iii) 
Phulgran Boys School is also in a very poor 
condition and its passage is also not useable.  
(iv) 
There is no proper passage to approach IMCB, 
Bhimber Trar. This college is almost half a kilometer 
away from the road and during the rainy days it is 
not possible for children to reach the school.  
(v) 
IMCG, Pind Malkan is also half kilometer away 
from the road and its passage is yet to be made. It is 
situated away from the village near a Nallah and the 
young girls have to go to school by foot and they 
always remain in danger while approaching the 
school, particularly during the rainy days the 
temporary passage to school becomes slippery and it 
makes impossible for the girls and teachers to reach 
the school.  
 
15. 
 
Regarding 
question 
No. 
6 
pertaining 
to 
litigation 
concerning lands/properties of schools, it was stated that a civil suit is 
pending in a court of law regarding land of IMSG (1-5), Pindor 
Syedan, Federal Area, Islamabad. It was further stated that after 
obtaining details from the Federal Directorate of Education, the matter 
would be dealt with on merits and in accordance with law.  
 
16. 
 
Mr. Babar Ali, learned Deputy Attorney General for 
Pakistan, by means of CMA No. 3748/2013, filed a report which 
contains a summary regarding the position of schools in ICT.  
According to this report, there are 1073 (383 Govt. Schools & 690 
Private Schools), which are fully functional and there is no ghost 
school in ICT, whereas, 53 schools (on papers) are shown as upgraded 
schools in the summary. As regards budgetary allocation for the 
financial year 2012-2013, a sum of Rs.2,404.267 million was allocated 
CONST.P. 37/2012 
 
9 
for schools in ICT. 2.5 million children of primary to secondary age 
group are out of schools. The learned law officer gave the following 
reasons for encroachments and lack of facilities in schools situated in 
ICT: -  
(i) 
Political & social power of land mafia as against the 
unprotected and weak local school administration. 
(ii) 
Absence of legal support in litigation.  
(iii) 
Lack of proper information and management system. 
 
17. 
 
To overcome the aforesaid problems and to secure the 
rights of children, he made the following suggestions: -  
(i) 
Uniformity of Education Policy in ICT on the pattern 
of Model Schools. 
(ii) 
Allocation of funds at least equivalent to 10% of GDP 
with gradual increase for education. 
(iii) 
Competitive process for recruitment of teachers with 
special quotas of rural areas.  
(iv) 
Discouragement of ad-hoc and daily wages system of 
employment of teachers. 
(v) 
The developed and planned city of Islamabad 
contains sector-wise educational plots. The Model 
School System be introduced in each Sector to cater 
for the requirements of the Sector. Besides, the 
same facility be provided in the rural areas.  
(vi) 
Sector-wise admission policy be introduced to 
provide education at doorstep.  
(vii) Transfer policy be prepared, introduced and enforced 
by the Directorate of Education.  
(viii) Pre-school education system be introduced. 
(ix) 
The functioning of the PIRA (Private Institutions 
Regulating Authority) to deal with the affairs of the 
private educational institutional has become virtually 
ineffective, so as to control fee structure and 
educational facilities to meet requirements of fair 
income group of people and to address requirements 
of depressed classes of poor children.  
(x) 
Priority of the Govt. should be fixed for the basic 
education.  
(xi) 
Necessary legislation for compulsory education with 
incentives and punitive action is required to be 
enacted. 
(xii) Education management needs to be strengthened 
with more capacity to monitor and take prompt 
decisions. 
(xiii) A National Commission for Primary to Matric 
Education be formed.  
 
CONST.P. 37/2012 
 
10
BALOCHISTAN 
18. 
 
The information/data pertaining to all the districts in the 
Province of Balochistan provided by all the District & Sessions Judges 
in the Balochistan has been received from the Registrar, High Court of 
Balochistan is as under: -  
 
DERA ALLAH YAR 
19. 
 
As per report of the District & Sessions Judge, Dera Allah 
Yar, 331 schools are fully functional, whereas 39 schools are non-
functional and tentative ratio of the children studying in schools is 
50% in the district. On question pertaining to encroachments upon 
schools’ properties, or the schools’ buildings being used for purposes 
other than education, it has been stated that some buildings have 
been encroached upon by unknown persons and police department 
due to inaction on the part of the Education Department. On the 
question pertaining to litigation concerning schools properties, it has 
been stated that no litigation is pending between the Education 
Department and private persons.  
 
GWADAR 
20. 
 
As per report of the District & Sessions Judge, Gwadar, out 
of total of 258 schools, 10 schools are non-functional, but there are no 
ghost schools in the district. A sum of Rs.262,256,300/- was allocated 
for education during the financial year, whereas 95 % of children are 
studying in the schools in the district. On question pertaining to 
encroachments upon schools’ properties, or the schools’ buildings 
being used for purposes other than education and the question 
pertaining to litigation concerning schools properties, it has been 
CONST.P. 37/2012 
 
11
stated that no encroachments have been made and no matter is 
pending before any court of law.  
 
KALAT DIVISION AT MASTUNG 
21. 
 
As per report of the District & Sessions Judge, Kalat 
Division at Mastung, 333 schools are fully functional whereas 22 
schools are non-functional due to non-availability of building, non-
availability of teachers despite existence of sanctioned posts, and non-
enrolment of students. The ratio of children studying in schools in the 
district is given as 1:8. On question pertaining to encroachments upon 
schools’ buildings, or the schools’ buildings being used for purposes 
other than education, it has been stated that no encroachments have 
been made upon the schools properties and no litigation is pending 
between the Education Department and private persons. Most of the 
schools were found lacking basic facilities, e.g., SST Science and SST 
General teachers, classrooms, furniture, computer labs, halls, drinking 
water, bathrooms and sweepers. It is stated that 84% schools are not 
provided electricity, 52% do not have water, 53% are without 
boundary walls and 80% are without gas connection. It is further 
stated that all purchases of various articles, such as books, furniture, 
reading/writing materials, chalk, duster, takhti, slates, ink, tat, etc., 
are made at the Directorate level, and only non-development funds, 
i.e. pay and allowances, etc., are released to the DEOs, and no direct 
funds are released to them.   
 
KHUZDAR 
22. 
 
As per report of the District & Sessions Judge, Khuzdar, 
609 schools are fully functional whereas 38 schools are non-functional 
and there are no ghost schools in the district. Only 22.5 % of children 
CONST.P. 37/2012 
 
12
are studying in the schools in the district. No school is used as 
baithak/authak and no litigation concerning schools properties is 
pending anywhere in the district. It is further stated that in view of the 
vast and tribal area and due to insufficient budget and vehicles, it is 
difficult to visit the schools and control absence of teachers.   
 
KOHLU 
23. 
 
The District & Sessions Judge, Kohlu, in his report 
forwarded to the Registrar, High Court of Balochistan, Quetta stated 
that the report prepared by the DEO Kohluhas is enclosed for 
necessary action. However, the report so received does not contain 
any Annexure. As regards physical inspection of the schools within the 
district, it was stated that it was practically impossible to physically 
inspect at a short notice all the 427 Government schools of Kohlu 
District, which are inaccessible on account of being situated in far-
flung and mountainous areas.  
 
LASBELLA At HUB 
24. 
 
The District & Sessions Judge, Lasbella at Hub, in his 
report, stated that physical inspection of all the 557 schools in Lasbella 
District was not practically feasible in a couple of days. However, he 
transmitted the information provided by the District Education Officer 
Lasbella at Uthal, according to which a sum of Rs.506,191,037/- was 
allocated for education in the financial year 2012-2013, whereas ratio 
of the male and female children studying in schools in the district is 
53% and 26% respectively. No school building is being used as 
baithak/authak, no encroachments upon schools’ properties exist and 
no litigation concerning schools properties is pending before any 
forum.  
CONST.P. 37/2012 
 
13
 
LORALAI 
25. 
 
The District & Sessions Judge, Loralai, in his report, 
mentioned that he deputed the Judicial Magistrates, Loralai and Duki, 
Assistant Commissioners, Bori and Duki to visit the schools within their 
respective areas and submit reports. He further stated that the reports 
received from the Judicial Magistrates, Loralai and Duki are forwarded. 
However, only the report of Judicial Magistrate, Loralai is annexed with 
the letter of the District & Sessions Judge. According to this report, 37 
schools are fully functional whereas 4 schools are non-functional in the 
district. The report highlights problems being faced in the schools, 
such as lack of drinking water, glasses of windows and ventilators, 
boundary walls, etc. The report is silent with regard to other questions.  
26. 
 
  The report of the Judicial Magistrate, Duki is not enclosed 
with the letter of the District & Sessions Judge, Loralai. The reports 
from the Assistant Commissioners, Bori and Duki were not mentioned 
in the aforesaid letter.   
 
MEKRAN AT TURBAT 
27. 
 
The District & Sessions Judge, Mekran at Turbat, in his 
report, stated that he had surveyed the schools situated in District 
Kech and had enclosed the reports. However, only page 3 of the report 
is appended with the letter, according to which one case pertaining to 
Government Boys Primary School, Chahsar Turbat is pending in the 
Court of Qazi Turbat wherein no stay order has been passed. However, 
the Qazi Turbat has been directed to dispose of the case within one 
month positively. The report is silent with regard to other question.   
 
 
 
 
CONST.P. 37/2012 
 
14
NASIRABAD AT DERA MURAD JAMALI 
28. 
 
As per report of the District & Sessions Judge Nasirabad at 
Dera Murad Jamali, 408 schools are fully functional whereas 33 schools 
are in the nature of ghost schools in the district. A sum of Rs.60/- is 
being paid to the students of 6th to 8th classes and a sum of Rs.100/- is 
being paid to the students of 9th and 10th classes by way of monthly 
scholarship. The ratio of children studying in the schools situated in 
urban and rural areas in the district is 55 % & 30% respectively. On 
question pertaining to encroachments upon schools’ buildings, or the 
schools’ buildings being used for purposes other than education, it has 
been mentioned that encroachment exists upon the Primary School 
Jongal Khan Umrani, one school is occupied by FC Forces and yet 
another is occupied by Flood affectees. No litigation pertaining to 
schools properties is pending before any forum. It is further stated 
that teachers were absent in 33 schools whereas six schools were 
closed due to non-posting of teachers.  
 
NOSHKI 
29. 
 
As per report of the District & Sessions Judge, Noshki, 14 
out of 220 schools are non-functional, but there are no ghost schools 
in the district. A sum of Rs.341,373,000/- was allocated for education 
during the financial year. A total of 24828 children (14019 boys and 
10808 girls) are studying in the schools. No encroachments exist upon 
schools properties and no school buildings are being used for purposes 
other than education. No litigation concerning schools properties is 
pending before any forum.   
 
PANJGUR  
CONST.P. 37/2012 
 
15
30. 
 
As per report of the District & Sessions Judge Panjgur, 343 
schools are fully functional and there are no ghost schools in the 
district. A sum of Rs.447,569,200/- was allocated for education during 
the financial year. The ratio of children studying in schools in the 
district is 89% boys and 80% girls. No encroachments exist upon 
schools properties and no school buildings are being used for purposes 
other than education. No litigation concerning schools properties is 
pending before any forum.  
 
PISHIN 
31. 
 
As per report of the District & Sessions Judge, Pishin, 875 
schools are fully functional whereas 27 schools are non-functional in 
the district for reasons, such as, encroachments, posts of teachers 
lying vacant, etc. A sum of Rs.644,970,200/- was allocated for 
education during the financial year. A total of 68000 children are 
studying in the schools in the district. Encroachments upon schools’ 
properties exist due to tribal dispute, the demand for a class-IV job in 
lieu of the school land provided by the private owners and inaction on 
the part of the Education Department. No litigation concerning schools 
properties is pending before any forum.  
 
QUETTA  
32. 
 
As per report of the District & Sessions Judge, Quetta, 552 
schools are fully functional and one Middle School at Killi Taj 
Muhammad Hanna is non-functional and there are no ghost schools in 
the district. A sum of Rs.1,661,461,100/- & Rs.275,030 (for non 
development budget & development budget respectively) was 
allocated in this regard. The ratio of children studying in schools is 
given as 38% boys and 40% girls in Primary Schools, 22% boys and 
CONST.P. 37/2012 
 
16
23% girls in Middle Schools and 22% boys and 20% girls in High 
Schools. No encroachments exist upon schools properties and no 
school buildings are being used for purposes other than education. No 
litigation concerning schools properties is pending before any forum.  
 
SIBI 
33. 
 
As per report of the District & Sessions Judge, Sibi, out of 
total of 263 schools, 8 schools are non-functional whereas there are no 
ghost schools in the district. The report highlights certain major 
problems being faced in the schools of the area, such as, closure of 
schools due to tribal disputes, migration of people due to non-
availability of water in Sunni and Shooran areas, absence of teachers, 
insecurity, non-maintenance of school buildings, etc. The report is 
silent about the other issues.    
 
USTA MUHAMMAD 
34. 
 
As per report of the District & Sessions Judge, Usta 
Muhammad, 274 out of 288 schools are fully functional whereas there 
are 7 ghost schools in the district. 75% children are studying in urban 
areas whereas 50% are studying in rural area. Four schools are 
forcibly occupied by the zamindars, but no action has been taken by 
the Education Department. No litigation concerning schools properties 
is pending before any forum. During survey of the schools, proxy 
teachers were found working in the schools. However, the report is 
silent with regard to the remaining issues.   
35. 
 
It is pertinent to mention here that the District & Sessions 
Judges of 15 districts of Balochistan only submitted reports whereas 
no reports were received on behalf of the District & Sessions Judges of 
the remaining districts. However, the Secretary, Secondary Education 
CONST.P. 37/2012 
 
17
on behalf of the Chief Secretary, Government of Balochistan, Quetta 
furnished report in respect of 30 districts.  
36. 
 
In respect of districts Chagai, Killa Abdullah, Killa Saifullah, 
Sherani, Musa Khail, Barkhan, Zhob, Ziarat, Dera Bugti, Jhall Magsi, 
Kachhi, Jaffarabad, Mastung, Kharan, Washuk and Awaran, the 
concerned District Education Officers have furnished cyclostyled 
reports wherein it has been certified that there are no ghost or non-
functional schools in the said districts nor the premises of any school 
are being used as Autak/Baithak or have been occupied by any 
influential person. It is further certified therein that all the schools are 
functioning under the supervision and control of the Education 
Department. The reports are silent about the other issues. In respect 
of district Musa Khail, it has been added that Government Boys 
Primary School, Mohsan Abad Kingari is partly occupied (two rooms) 
by one Suleman Shah and a complaint is pending before the Provincial 
Mohtasib regarding said occupation. The reports of the Secretary, 
Secondary Education in respect of the remaining 15 districts are 
somewhat identical to the reports of the above mentioned 15 districts.  
37. 
 
Mr. Babar Ali, learned Deputy Attorney General for 
Pakistan, by means of CMA 3748/2013, filed a summary regarding the 
schools in the Province of Balochistan. According to the said summary, 
number of total schools is 12388, number of fully functional schools in 
the Province is 12082, number of ghost schools is 7, number of 
occupied schools is 25, number of non-functional schools is 274, 
budgetary allocation is Rs.24067.00 million, reasons for non-
functioning of schools include law and order in districts, such as Dera 
Bugti, Kohlu, Khuzdar, waran, Kharan, Washok, Mastung, Kalta, 
Naseerabad, Jaffarabad, Panjgur, Turbat and Gwadar; lack of transport 
CONST.P. 37/2012 
 
18
facilities for the female teachers, and non-availability of teachers, 
specially female teachers. To overcome the problems and issues 
confronting the schools in the Province of Balochistan, the learned law 
officer made the following suggestions/recommendations: -  
(i) 
The Department needs huge amount of funds for 
implementation of Article 25A of the Constitution. 
(ii) 
Decentralization of authority to the local and institutional 
level. 
(iii) 
Local 
administration 
to 
work 
with 
the 
Education 
Department to vacate occupied buildings. 
(iv) 
Funds to be allocated for shelterless schools. 
(v) 
Provision of transportation for female teachers. 
(vi) 
Upgradation of management facilities to monitor all 
schools effectively.  
 
 
KHYBER PAKHTUNKHWA  
 
38. 
 
The information/data pertaining to all the districts in the 
Province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provided by all the District & 
Sessions Judges in the Province vis-à-vis the above questions was 
received through the Registrar, Peshawar High Court. A summary of 
the district-wise information so provided is given as under: -   
 
ABBOTTABAD  
39. 
 
As per report of the District & Sessions Judge, Abbotabad, 
the District Education Officer (DEO) had mentioned in his report the 
number of schools, total enrolment of students and the expenditure 
incurred thereon, and that all the schools in the district are functional. 
It is further stated that as per information received from Earthquake 
Reconstruction & Rehabilitation Authority (ERRA), most of the schools 
were badly damaged in the earthquake of 2005 and have not yet been 
reconstructed, as such, students and teachers are facing great 
difficulties. No ghost school is found in the District except certain 
incomplete buildings. It is noteworthy that the report of the DEO upon 
CONST.P. 37/2012 
 
19
which the report of the D&SJ is based, is not appended with the letter 
of the District & Sessions Judge.   
 
BANNU  
40. 
 
As per report of the District & Sessions Judge, Bannu, out 
of 1518 schools, 57 are non-functional, however, there is no ghost 
school in the District. An amount of Rs.32,045,071/- was allocated for 
education in the budget. The students presently studying and enrolled 
in both the male and female schools are 129,662. The Government 
Girls Middle School, Kotka Inam Gul Wazir Basia Khel was found 
without any teacher. Though record/registers for the year 2010 were 
available, but the current record was not available and according to 
the ADEO (Female) as well as Chowkidar, the teacher is on maternity 
leave and the remaining record is in her possession, and the students 
are being taught therein, however, no students were present in the 
schools. Most of the schools are built upon lands donated by private 
land owners who, considering it as their ownership, use the same 
premises after the school hours as baithak and have occupied forcibly 
some portions of the schools. The Education Officers submitted that 
they had issued notices to them and also stopped salaries of the 
Chowkidars who are unwilling to cooperate and actions are being taken 
against them. There is no litigation pending between private persons 
and the Education Department. There is extreme interference of 
political leaders and landowners found in the affairs of schools.  
 
BATTAGRAM    
41. 
 
As per report of the District & Sessions Judge, Battagram, 
due to the mountainous area of the district, with schools located at an 
altitude of 3000 feet to 15000 feet, physical examination of all the 
CONST.P. 37/2012 
 
20
schools was an extremely arduous task. There is no Additional District 
& Sessions Judge posted in the district, and hence it was impossible to 
physically verify all the 788 schools of the district, in the allotted time. 
However, some of the schools were visited and an impression was 
gathered that since the news of the impending survey had already 
reached most of the schools, therefore, most of the teachers were 
trying to manage their presence on duty. Despite this, a number of 
schools did not have the full strength of teachers. Some of the far off 
schools were found locked and were not functional. In some of the 
schools, proxy teachers were working at Rs.3000/- to Rs.4000/- a 
month. As per reports received from an NGO, a number of schools are 
not functioning fully. Some of the schools would fall within the 
definition of ghost schools as no building exists since after the 
earthquake. However, some of these destroyed schools are running in 
makeshift arrangement and there is a keen desire of the people that 
education is imparted to their children. This is evident from the 
number of children in the remotest parts of the area in extreme 
weather without any building or the children being taught on makeshift 
basis.  
 
BUNER  
42. 
 
As per report of the District & Sessions Judge, Buner, there 
are 791 Government schools in the district, out of which 777 are fully 
functional whereas remaining 14 are newly sanctioned and will be 
made functional in near future after fulfilment of the requirements. 
There is no ghost school, however, many schools buildings exist, the 
teacher are posted, but due to lack of devotion on the part of teachers, 
specially in the Girls Primary Schools, where female teachers remain 
absent from duty, the schools act merely as day-care centres. A sum 
CONST.P. 37/2012 
 
21
of 
Rs.1,041,141,459/- 
including 
annual 
salary 
expenditure 
of 
Rs.998,499,247/- and non-salary expenditure of Rs.42,642,212/- was 
allocated for education in the budget during the financial year. A 
list/table spreading over 18 pages showing the names of Secondary 
Schools with the number of teachers and students enrolment has been 
provided; however, the real answer, i.e., the ratio of children studying 
in schools in the District has not been provided. Lands for school are 
donated in consideration of class-IV jobs but some of the schools are 
encroached upon due to non-posting. The reason of encroachment 
upon the school buildings is stated to be the non-serious attitude of 
the Education Department, in acquiring the land legally, and their 
tendency of serving the interests of the influential persons, rather than 
protecting the interests of the education department. The details of 
litigation between the Education Department and the private persons 
is stated to have been provided by the Department as Annexure C to 
the report. However, surprisingly, no annexure is attached with the 
report.  
 
43. 
 
It was stated that the SDEO Buner is not serious in taking 
action against female teachers and also pays no heed to proper 
postings of the teachers for reasons best known to him, therefore, the 
female teachers were facing hardships in transit from house to schools 
and it creates hurdle in performance of their duty.  The officer does 
not visit schools to check their conditions and some of the schools 
have been encroached upon by the concerned Chowkidars or others. 
Further, a Senior Science Teacher is posted as SDEO (Male), which is 
reflective of posting of non-qualified persons at higher levels with 
political interference. The buildings of the schools are deteriorating. 
CONST.P. 37/2012 
 
22
Many teachers also complained about non-provision of proper 
infrastructure and dilapidated condition of the buildings.  
 
CHARSADDA  
44. 
 
As per report of the District & Sessions Judge, Charsadda, 
District Education Officers (Male/Female), Charsadda provided the 
details regarding number of schools, enrolment of students and 
strength of teaching staff in the district, according to which most of the 
schools in the district are fully functional. However, the Additional 
District & Sessions Judges, Charsadda, Tangi and Shabqadar, in their 
respective reports, stated that some schools were found closed and 
non-functional for the reason that the land donors had closed the 
schools because their family members were not employed in lieu of 
free donation of the lands for those schools. It is further stated that 
cases were registered against the concerned persons and most of the 
schools were re-opened and made functional. It is also stated that 
some of the schools are still non-functional due to dilapidated 
condition of school buildings or non-existence of boundary walls, etc. 
The teaching staff along with students of the above mentioned schools 
have been adjusted in some other schools due to precarious condition 
of the schools of the locality. It is further stated that the department 
has been directed to arrange funds for construction of boundary walls, 
and repair and maintenance works of the schools premises and to 
make the schools functional.   
 
CHITRAL 
45. 
 
As per report of the District & Sessions Judge, Chitral, 
there are 793 schools in the district with 73101 (39764 boys and 3336 
girls) enrolled students and 2853 teachers in Government Schools. 
CONST.P. 37/2012 
 
23
There is no ghost school in the district. Amount of Rs.1,277,726,000/- 
was allocated for the district during the financial year. No school 
building/property of the Education Department has been encroached 
upon by any private person or land owner, and no litigation is pending 
in the district. 
46. 
 
It was further stated that some schools were found closed 
and non-functional as the land donors had encroached upon the 
schools buildings for the reason that their family members were not 
employed in lieu of free donation of lands for those schools. Some 
schools have been re-opened as a result of cases registered against 
the concerned donors; however, some of the schools are still non-
functional due to dilapidated condition of the buildings or non-
existence of the boundary walls, etc. and the teaching staff along with 
students of those schools have been adjusted in some other schools 
due to precarious condition. The concerned department has been 
directed to reconstruct the boundary wall etc.  
 
DERA ISMAIL KHAN 
47. 
 
As per report of the District & Sessions Judge, DI Khan, 
the DEOs had mentioned in their reports that there are 1605 schools in 
the District out of which 11 schools were under encroachment, 
whereas during physical verification by the Additional District & 
Sessions Judge, 27 schools were found encroached upon by private 
persons or land owners, and in some of the cases, litigation is pending. 
Two schools were found closed by the land owners as mutations in 
favour of Education Department had not been attested, but the school 
buildings had been constructed thereupon. The cases regarding both 
these schools have been forwarded to the Anti-Corruption Department, 
D.I. Khan for probe and necessary legal action. In some of the areas, 
CONST.P. 37/2012 
 
24
the lady teachers engaged proxy teachers on payment of money to 
perform duty in their place. The official of Education Department 
informed that many schools are non-functional due to non-availability 
of teachers and political pressure. Some of the schools are non-
functional because the buildings had been badly damaged or collapsed 
in the flood of 2010. Another reason for the deteriorating situation of 
Government schools situated in the far flung areas is that the teachers 
remain absent without sanctioned leave, but the officers of Education 
Department would not bother to take any action against them. 
Although sufficient staff (DEO and others) are posted in the district, 
but they do not perform their duties and instead are in the habit of 
visiting offices and residences of the political figures for prize postings. 
Thus, the figures regarding functional and non-functional schools of 
various categories, both male and female, furnished by the Education 
Department, were not correct. Various aspects of the functioning of 
the schools and the Education Department have been dealt with in the 
report in quite some detail. Finally, it has been suggested that if the 
Education Department is allowed to be monitored by the District 
Judiciary for a period of six months only, all irregularities and 
illegalities will be rectified and the non-functional and ghost schools 
will become functional and start imparting proper education to the 
students.  
 
 
 
HANGU 
48. 
 
As per report of the District & Sessions Judge, Hangu, 
there are 397 schools in the district, out of which 361 are functional, 
whereas 28 are non-functional. In addition to that, 34 schools were 
found closed. An amount of Rs.655,353,946/- was allocated for 
education in the budget during the financial year. The ratio of children 
CONST.P. 37/2012 
 
25
admitted in schools is approximately 50% on male side and 30% on 
female side. There is no ghost school in the entire district. Similarly, 
no school has been occupied by any private person. Rather, in many 
places, due to non-availability of building or for security reasons, the 
schools are functioning in private buildings provided free of rent by the 
locals. Only 2 schools have been occupied by the police or other 
forces. The concerned DEOs are actively pursuing these cases, with 
the quarters concerned for vacation of buildings so as to make the 
schools functional.  
 
HARIPUR  
49. 
 
As per report of the District & Sessions Judge, Haripur, out 
of 313 schools only three schools are non-functional, with no 
enrolment of students therein details whereof are given in the 
Annexure. Reportedly, the concerned ASDEO has taken steps to stop 
the monthly salary of the concerned staff and to functionalize the 
aforesaid schools. However, it is noteworthy that the Annexures 
referred to in the report of the District & Sessions Judge have not been 
attached with the report.  
 
KARAK  
50. 
 
As per report of the District & Sessions Judge, Karak, in 
most of the basic teaching units of the district, the situation is 
extremely alarming. Most of these schools are teaching institutions 
only in name, but virtually no student is being admitted there to seek 
education and the teaching staff is taking salary at home. There is no 
record of their daily attendance and no yardstick to measure the level 
of their efficiency and performance. The teachers, with the collusion of 
the concerned supervisory officials, either manage to mark proxies or 
CONST.P. 37/2012 
 
26
engage local substitutions, to whom they pay a portion of their salaries 
on monthly basis. The Head Teacher of each school, without any 
documentary proof and observance of codal formalities is paid 
Rs.7,000/- per annum per room as maintenance charges, but there is 
no solid proof and record either in office of the Head Teacher, the DEO 
concerned or the Head at district level to show as to how and under 
what criteria this public fund is being used. In the previous financial 
year, a sum of Rs.40 million was placed at the disposal of Parents 
Teacher Association (PTA), but surprisingly even the very PTA did not 
exist in the district nor is there any record of expenditure of the 
allocated public fund.  
51. 
 
It is also submitted that if more time is given, the desired 
goal will be achieved in more effective and purposeful manner and 
authentic figures and statistics, which are now being just observed on 
analysis, will be provided.  
 
KOHAT 
52. 
 
As per report of the District & Sessions Judge, Kohat, there 
are 338 female and 481 male schools in the Government sector in the 
District. After physical inspection, it transpired that 3 schools were not 
functioning fully, whereas there were problems with regard to 29 
schools. 
In 
the 
schools, 
which 
are 
presently 
non-functional, 
teachers/staff are posted who are drawing salaries. The budgetary 
allocation for the financial year for all public schools in the District was 
Rs.1,683,810,060/-. At present, the total enrolment of both male and 
female students in primary and secondary public schools is 113221, 
while that of the private schools is 25684. Thus, the ratio comes to 
3:1. In most of the school under encroachment, the premises have not 
been legally handed over to Education Department and were 
CONST.P. 37/2012 
 
27
constructed on funds of the Senators disbursed during the 80’s, as 
such the premises were not on record of Education Department. In 
absence of proper handing over and taking over by the Education 
Department, question of existence of sanctioned staff does not arise. 
In two of the schools, on account of pending litigation and recently 
decided Court matters, the private persons are in occupation.  
 
KOHISTAN 
53. 
As per report of the District & Sessions Judge, Kohistan, 
out of 1169 schools, 291 are functioning, whereas 407 in 
earthquake, 57 in floods and 139 in other incidents have been 
damaged, while 275 are non-functional due to non-availability of 
teachers. The conditions of female schools are more miserable 
inasmuch as out of 269 girls schools, only one school is fully 
functional, and all remaining schools are  either completely or 
partly non-functional with the exception of 2/3 other schools. An 
amount of Rs.898,996,390/- was allocated for the district in the 
financial year 2012-13. The ratio of children studying in the 
District is the lowest in Pakistan. The buildings of the schools 
have not been encroached upon, but the teaching activities have 
been suffering due to non-availability of teaching staff despite 
their appointments and despite drawing salaries. As there is no 
encroachment, therefore, no litigation existed between the 
Education Department and private persons, and not a single 
case is pending in any Court.  
 
LAKKI MARWAT 
54. 
 
As per report of the District & Sessions Judge, Lakki 
Marwat, the middle, high and higher secondary schools are functional, 
CONST.P. 37/2012 
 
28
however, more than 50% of the primary schools are ghost 
schools/closed schools and the staff is getting salaries while sitting at 
their homes. The condition of the schools was found miserable. The 
students are made to sit on ground. The staff/teachers are not 
recruited on merits, rather on political and monetary considerations. 
Most of the primary schools are also built/sanctioned on political 
considerations and owners of the land are using the same as their 
houses/Baithaks and one of their relatives is getting salary as 
Chowkidar. A good number of school teachers are not performing their 
duties, rather doing their private businesses. The DEOs are 
appointed/posted 
under 
political 
influence 
or 
on 
monetary 
considerations who are reportedly involved in corrupt practices, 
causing loss of millions of rupees to the national exchequer. In town 
areas, the ratio of children studying in government and private schools 
is 50:50. In the rural area, the ratio of boys studying in the 
Government primary schools is about 30% while the ratio of girls 
studying in Government primary schools is less than 30%. In rural 
area, the ratio of girls studying in Government Middle and Government 
High schools is less than 10%. Just in the month of February about 
Rs.16,67,96,549/- were incurred on payment of salaries of the 
officials/staff of the  education department.  
 
DIR LOWER 
55. 
 
As per report of the District & Sessions Judge, Dir Lower, 
there are 1571 schools in the District with a total of 394443 enrolled 
students and 6890 teachers, out of which 6 schools are non-
operational being newly established. There are also 171 Government 
Maktab Primary Schools with 6520 enrolled students. The budgetary 
allocation for the year 2012-2013 is Rs.1,829,639,951/-. Due to 
CONST.P. 37/2012 
 
29
militancy, 100 schools (42 partially damaged and 58 fully damaged) 
were destroyed/damaged out of which 12 have been completely 
restored whereas 34 have been partially restored. The newly 
established schools will be functionalized at the beginning of new 
academic year. 
56. 
 
It was also stated that the over all condition of education 
was found not so much bad and can be branded as satisfactory in the 
district. No school was found ghost and under unauthorized occupation 
or encroached upon by any agency or private individual.  
 
MALAKAND  
57. 
 
As per report of the District & Sessions Judge, Malakand, 
no ghost school exists in the District. Although schools are functioning, 
but overall situation is far from being satisfactory. Many schools have 
only one room. Most of the schools do not have benches, chairs and 
desks, and children sit on the ground in the open. Academically the 
children are very poor. The ratio of teachers in the government schools 
is 5 to 7 times more than teachers in the private schools, but even 
then the performance and feedback of private schools are far better. 
As per list provided, there are 43 total number of school in the district 
and there is no ghost school. Details about the number of schools, 
students, funds, etc., have been provided in a table annexed with the 
report. It has been further stated that the Government schools are 
being treated like orphans, rather worse than that.  
58. 
 
It has been suggested that it should be made mandatory 
for each MNA & MPA to visit and prepare a list of at least 10 schools on 
monthly basis, and provide the detailed information to the concerned 
Head of department. Similarly, the District & Sessions Judge or 
Additional District & Sessions Judge should also pay a surprise visit to 
CONST.P. 37/2012 
 
30
ten schools and submit report in this behalf to the Registrar of the 
concerned High Court. It is further submitted that for the evaluation of 
teachers, there should be a strong system of check and balance, and 
also the conditional promotion. The Government should provide basic 
facilities i.e. benches, chairs, desks, fans, facility of drinking water, 
etc. 
 
MANSEHRA & TOR GHAR 
59. 
 
As per report of the District & Sessions Judge, Mansehra, 
the DEOs (Male and Female), Mansehra have submitted reports 
showing number of schools, total enrolment of students, expenditure 
incurred thereon. It was stated that all the schools in District, 
Mansehra are functional. Most of the schools were badly damaged in 
the earthquake of 2005, but construction work has not yet been 
started in a number of schools, whereas many schools have not been 
completely reconstructed. Therefore, students and teachers are facing 
great difficulty, however, no ghost school was found.  
 
MARDAN  
60. 
 
As per report of the District & Sessions Judge, Mardan, 
there is no ghost school in the entire District. There are 1737 schools 
out of which 24 schools are found as dysfunctional being illegally 
occupied by the locals. As per Annual Schools Census 2011-12, 
341523 students are enrolled – 133410 female & 208113 male 
students. The information/data furnished by the courts revealed that 
court proceedings or litigation was no hurdle at all in the operation and 
functioning of the schools, for the reasons that no injunctive orders 
have been passed, which could prevent the utility and usage of the 
schools buildings. Funds are allocated @ Rs.7,000/- per room to each 
CONST.P. 37/2012 
 
31
school for maintenance & repair coupled with contingency, but pathetic 
condition of the structure and lack of civic facilities, such as water, 
washroom, etc., as observed during physical verification showed that 
the funds have not been utilized properly, which is indicative of lack of 
proper financial management and checks and balances.  
 
NOWSHERA  
61. 
 
As per report of the District & Sessions Judge, Nowshera, 
there are 9 Higher Secondary Schools, 63 High Schools, 48 Middle 
Schools and 431 Primary Schools for Boys; whereas, 7 Higher 
Secondary Schools, 29 High Schools, 44 Middle Schools, 326 Primary 
Schools, 3 JICA Model Schools and 18 Government Community Model 
Schools for Girls in the district, and all these schools are fully 
functional at present. There is no ghost school in the district. Total 
allocated funds for education are Rs.1,671,146,717/-. The ratio of 
children studying in Government Schools is 64.8% and that of the 
children studying in Private Schools is 35.2%. Only one case is 
pending in the Court of Civil Judge, Nowshera regarding Government 
Girls Middle School Khawrai for appointment against Class-IV vacancy. 
The concerned Civil Judge has been directed to decide the case 
expeditiously within one month.  
 
 
 
PESHAWAR 
62. 
As per report of the District & Sessions Judge, Peshawar, 
1181 Government schools are functioning in the District. As per report 
of the DEOs, no ghost school exists in the District. However, during 
physical inspection, it was found that 3 schools were non-functional 
ever since their construction and 4 schools were closed due to non-
availability of teaching staff. Budgetary allocation for the year 2012-13 
CONST.P. 37/2012 
 
32
was 
Rs.17,769,957,000/- 
(provincial) 
and 
Rs.45,725,414,130/- 
(Districts). 331094 students are enrolled in Government schools 
whereas 234604 students are enrolled in private schools. Some of the 
schools are in the occupation of land owners and as many as 13 cases 
are pending in different courts.  
 
SHANGLA  
63. 
 
The District & Sessions Judge, Shangla, instead of 
submitting a consolidated report, has forwarded the reports of Civil 
Judges Alpuri, Puran and Chakaisar. As per report of Civil Judge 
Puran, District Shangla, generally the schools in the area have 
shortage of rooms, furniture, clean drinking water, lightening 
and toilets. In Girls schools, the attendance of the teachers is 
very low and some of the schools are closed before the closing 
hours. Building of GMS, Kabalgram is completely occupied by 
Pak-Army; teachers and students have been shifted to GGPS, 
Kablagram, whereas, the students and teachers of GGPS, 
Kablagram were found absent. The GGPS, Kablagram and GGPS, 
Kohay can be termed as non-functional.  
64. 
 
As per report of Civil Judge, Chakaisar, all the schools 
inspected are functional and detail of 32 schools has been 
provided. No ghost school is found during inspection. No school 
building is found to be used as home or Baithak. No litigation 
exists between the Education department and private persons. 
65. 
 
As per report of Civil Judge, Alpuri, DEO submitted a 
certificate that there is no ghost, non-functional or encroached school 
in the whole District. However, during visit to accessible schools, it 
transpired that generally all the schools are either ghost, non-
functional or encroached schools. Besides, a lot of schools were found 
CONST.P. 37/2012 
 
33
temporarily closed during duty hours. Details of 3 ghost, 4 permanent 
non-functional, 6 temporary closed schools and the absent teachers 
have been provided in the report.  
 
SWABI  
66. 
 
As per report of the District & Sessions Judge, Swabi, 
DEOs reported that all 1312 schools in the District are functioning and 
there is no ghost school in the District. However, during physical 
inspection, certain schools having proper buildings were found non-
functional for want of any teachers, staff, students and furniture. As 
per Annual Schools Census 2011-12, 140990 students were found 
enrolled in the district, however, the number of non-enrolled students 
could not be ascertained due to lack of resources and non-cooperation 
of the executive agencies of the district. Total educational expenditure 
in the District is Rs.2,399,217,210/-. PTC/PTA funds including cash 
book, stock register, vouchers, etc., were checked in different schools, 
which showed receipt of funds by the schools and details of 
expenditure incurred. The teachers were found in regular practice of 
obtaining leave for no reason or absenting from duty; sometimes, 
even head of the school was found absent. The deteriorating 
conditions of the buildings of some schools, particularly Girls Schools 
were paid no attention by the respective DEOs. Despite availability of 
basic facilities in the schools, the same were not open to the students. 
However, no school was found being encroached upon or being used 
as Baithak/Authak or for residential purposes. No litigation is pending 
in the District before any court in Swabi.  The DEOs openly complained 
about the political interference in the appointments and transfer of 
schools teachers through their high ups; pressure groups of teachers 
associated with their unions; shortage of teacher/staff of fresh 
CONST.P. 37/2012 
 
34
recruitment; and attachment of school teachers with the health 
department for the purposes of polio campaign particularly female 
teachers who were engaged for the far flung areas without any proper 
security. It was further stated in the report that during inspection 
certain irregularities in different schools e.g., absence of teachers, 
deteriorating conditions of the buildings, embezzlement of PTC/PTA 
funds, etc were noticed. 
 
SWAT 
67. 
 
As per report of District & Sessions Judge, Swat, no ghost 
school exists in the District, meaning thereby that all the schools 
mentioned in the reports of the DEOs (Male/Female) are in existence 
on the spot, however, 83 schools are found non-functional due to non-
availability/absence of teachers, for want of proper handing and taking 
over procedure, illegal occupation, or having been damaged by storm 
or destroyed by militants, which needed immediate repair. The details 
regarding total number of schools, children enrolled, ratio of students, 
allocation of funds and expenditure made have not been provided.  
 
 
TANK 
68. 
 
As per report of the District & Sessions Judge, Tank, there 
are 211 primary schools, 27 middle schools, 24 high schools and one 
higher secondary school for boys; 136 primary schools, 13 middle 
schools and 6 high schools for girls in the District. There is no ghost 
school; however, 4 male and 30 female schools are non-functional. 
Three schools are encroached upon by private individuals. No school 
was found under any litigation. The entire District, excluding some 
portion of Jatatar and Kundian Qanoongo Circles, is semi-tribal or 
tribal area and due to security problems not easily accessible, as such, 
CONST.P. 37/2012 
 
35
teachers seldom dare to go to schools. Except for certain usual 
problems, there are no visible illegalities or irregularities in the 
schools, however, there are general complaint of substitution, i.e. the 
actual teachers, specially, females have arranged some locals for duty 
at their place. On female side, irregularities at primary level especially 
in posting, transfer/adjustment are common. In most of the cases, 
postings are made in the school beyond sanctioned strength on the 
pretext of adjustments whereas other schools are left vacant/without 
teachers. No vigilant interest and attention on the part of education 
authorities was found and they are responsible for irregularities. 
 
DIR UPPER 
69. 
 
As per report of the District & Sessions Judge, Dir Upper, 
there are 942 schools in the District with a total of 190927 enrolled 
students and 5991 teachers. Most of the children go to schools. Total 
educational expenditure for the District is Rs.112,606,128/- per 
month. The Government Primary School, Jatkol situated in Sub-
Division Sheringal is functional in a Masjid as the said school building 
has been occupied by the person whose father had donated the landed 
property for the school and he, as per decision of High Court, was 
appointed as Chowkidar in the office of SDEO(M), Sub-Division Wari 
Dir Upper, but he wants to be posted at the Jatkol Primary School. The 
building of the Government High School in Dir Town was given on 
lease to Fatima Model School and the said school is functional. The 
Government Middle School situated at Dobando Dera is occupied by 
the security forces for operational purposes against militancy. There is 
no litigation pending in the District between Education Department and 
any private person.  
CONST.P. 37/2012 
 
36
70. 
 
The 
learned 
Additional 
Advocate 
General, 
Khyber 
Pakhtunkhwa prepared and filed a summary/comparative chart of the 
reports furnished by the learned Judicial Officers and the Government 
of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as under: -  
 
S.No 
District 
Judicial Report 
Govt. Report 
Deference 
1 
Timergara 
No ghost school, all 
schools 
are 
functional 
Eight schools 
are 
non 
functional due 
to 
non 
availability of 
teachers 
-8 Schools 
2 
Mansehra 
All 
Schools 
are 
functional 
One 
school 
non functional 
due to court 
case 
-1 
3 
Chitral 
All 
Schools 
are 
functional 
All School are 
functional 
Nil 
4 
Nowshera 
All 
School 
are 
opened 
to 
interference by the 
judicial officers 
Eight Schools 
due 
to 
disputes with 
land owners 
-8 
5 
Karak 
All 
School 
are 
functional 
All 
Schools 
are functional 
Nil 
6 
Tank 
Thirty four Schools 
are closed due to 
different reasons 
One School 
+33 
7 
Kohistan 
Nine Schools have 
been specified to 
be non functional 
rest 
are 
not 
in 
good conditions 
Eighteen 
Schools 
are 
non functional 
due 
to 
non 
availability of 
staff 
-9 
8 
Mardan 
Twenty 
four 
Schools are closed 
due 
to 
land 
disputes 
One 
male 
School 
+23 
9 
Swabi 
Fourteen 
Schools 
are closed 
Two 
+12 
10 
Abbottabad 
Nil 
Nil 
Nil 
11 
D.I.Khan 
Twenty 
seven 
Schools are closed 
Two 
+25 
12 
Hangu 
Report is not clear 
28 
-28 
13 
Kohat 
Nil 
Nil 
Nil 
14 
Malakand 
Nil 
Nil 
Nil 
15 
Peshawar 
Seven Schools are 
closed 
Eight 
-1 
16 
Battagram 
Report is not clear 
Nil 
Nil 
17 
Banu 
Eight Schools are 
mentioned 
but 
when 
minutely 
read, four schools 
appear to be non 
functional 
Four 
Nil 
18 
Bunir 
Report ambiguous 
Four 
-4 
19 
Swat 
Lengthily list of non Fourteen 
-14 
CONST.P. 37/2012 
 
37
functional 
schools 
is given but stricto 
senso they are not 
non functional 
20 
Shangla 
Three 
ghost 
Schools and four 
non functional 
Nil 
+7 
21 
Dir Lower 
Nil 
Nil 
Nil 
22 
Lakki 
Marwat 
Report ambiguous 
50% Schools have 
been reported as 
ghost/closed 
Schools 
but 
without 
furnishing 
details 
Nil 
Nil 
23 
Dir Upper 
Nil 
Nil 
Nil 
24 
Haripur 
Three 
Nil 
+3 
25 
Charsadda 
Thirteen 
Nine 
+4 
 
 
Grand 
Total 
 
142 
 
108 
 
34 
 
71. 
 
The learned law officer stated that as per the report of 
Judicial Officers, the number of non-functional schools is on a higher 
scale as compared to the reports furnished on behalf of the Provincial 
Government. However, he stated that learned Judicial Officers in many 
cases reported as non-functional those schools which were temporarily 
found closed due to any trivial reason. In so stating, the learned law 
officer clarified that the Government is not defending the temporary 
closure of any school and that any lapse in the performance of duty by 
any functionary will be dealt with in accordance with law and smooth 
running of schools will be ensured. He stated that action in some of 
the cases is already under process. According to the learned law 
officer, the non-functioning of schools in the Province of Khyber 
Pakhtunkhwa, was mainly due to following reasons: -  
(i) 
Law and order situation due to militancy;  
(ii) 
Shortage of staff in some far flung districts; and  
(iii) 
Disputes with land owners.  
 
He also stated that the Government has already undertaken to meet 
the deficiency of teaching staff by proposing amendments in the 
Rules/Policy regarding backward districts and that the disputes with 
CONST.P. 37/2012 
 
38
the land owners are being settled on priority basis. He further stated 
that there is a progressive increase in the budgetary allocation for 
education over the past few years. Furthermore, after insertion of 
Article 25A in the Constitution, the Provincial Government has already 
drafted a bill to meet the requirements of said Article, which will be 
passed by the Provincial Government in due course of time.  
 
THE PROVINCE OF THE PUNJAB 
72. 
 
The information/data pertaining to all the districts in the 
Province of Punjab provided by all the District & Sessions Judges in the 
Punjab has been received from the Registrar, Lahore High Court is as 
under: -  
 
ATTOCK 
73. 
 
As per report of the District & Sessions Judge, Attock, 
1265 schools (837 Primary, 200 Elementary, 206 High and 22 Higher 
Secondary schools) are fully functional and there are no ghost school 
in the district. A sum of Rs.3,116.043 million was allocated during the 
financial year for the district, whereas 95% of children in the district 
are studying in schools. Two rooms of Government Girls High School, 
Pind Fateh, Tehsil Fatehjang are occupied by one Iqbal due to 
negligence of the local school administration and School Management 
Committee (SMC). The encroachment issue of 4 schools was settled by 
the Judicial Officers, whereas encroachment matters of 26 were 
directed to be fixed as court cases before the Addl. District & Sessions 
Judges with a direction for proper follow-up thereof. Six cases are 
pending – 2 before the Lahore High Court, Rawalpindi Bench and 4 
before the Civil Courts. The latter have been directed to decide the 
same within a period of 2 months.  
CONST.P. 37/2012 
 
39
BAHAWALNAGAR 
74. 
 
As 
per 
report 
of 
the 
District 
& 
Sessions 
Judge, 
Bahawalnagar, 2231 schools are fully functional, whereas 43 schools 
are non-functional due to transfer of single teacher or the building 
after its construction not having been handed over to Education 
Department, however, there is no ghost school in the district. A sum of 
Rs.4,539.721 million was allocated during the financial year 2012-13 
for the running of schools while the ratio of the children studying in the 
schools in the district is 87%. As regards encroachments, it has been 
stated 
that 
due 
to 
lack 
of 
interest 
of 
the 
school 
administration/Education Department, the authorities in many cases 
did not know the exact area of the schools. However, certain 
encroachments upon school premises were got removed through the 
Revenue Department. Two cases are pending in different courts 
without any stay order and directions have been issued to the 
concerned courts to expedite the proceedings of the cases.   
 
BAHAWALPUR 
75. 
 
As per report of the District & Sessions Judge, Bahawalpur, 
2122 
schools 
(1961 
Primary/Elementary 
and 
116 
High/Higher 
Secondary schools) are fully functional. The ratio of the children 
studying in the schools is 99.93%. Budgetary allocation is not 
mentioned in the report. Regarding encroachments, it has been stated 
that no school building is being used as a Baithak/Authak or for 
residential purposes, however, portions of three schools are illegally 
occupied and cases of property of four school buildings against the 
encroachers are being pursued whereas no action has been initiated by 
the Education Department against the encroachment of two schools. 
The education department authorities, in their reports, stated that no 
CONST.P. 37/2012 
 
40
ghost schools exist in the district, however, the District & Sessions 
Judge in his remarks stated that there are two ghost schools, whereas 
there are four shelterless schools and eight schools are under 
encroachment. One case is pending before Civil Judge 1st Class, and 
another case is pending before the Additional District & Sessions 
Judge, Bahawalpur.   
 
BHAKKAR 
76. 
 
As per report of the District & Sessions Judge, Bhakkar, 
1337 schools are fully functional, whereas 3 schools are in the nature 
of ghost schools. A sum of Rs.41,892,018/- was allocated for the 
purpose during the financial year whereas 98.64% children are 
studying in the schools. 18 schools were found to be partly encroached 
upon by some private individuals out of which one was got vacated. 
One case is pending before the Lahore High Court, Lahore, namely, 
Writ Petitions No.2015 & 2016 of 2003, one is pending before the 
Assistant Commissioner, Bhakkar and two are pending with the Civil 
Courts. However, no stay order has been issued, but the Education 
Department has not got vacated the schools from the encroachers.  
 
CHAKWAL 
77. 
 
As per report of the District & Sessions Judge, Chakwal, 
802 schools are functional, 7 semi-functional and 6 schools are in the 
nature of ghost schools in the district. A sum of Rs.218,387,045/- was 
allocated during the financial year 2012-13. Encroachments exist in 23 
schools. Three cases are pending before civil courts and one before the 
Assistant Commissioner, Talagang, District Chakwal. Reasons for delay 
in disposal of cases are non-appearance of the counsel for parties and 
lack of interest on the part of Education Department.   
CONST.P. 37/2012 
 
41
 
CHINIOT 
78. 
 
As per report of the District & Sessions Judge, Chiniot, 899 
schools are fully functional and there is no ghost school in the area.  A 
sum of Rs.1,27,25,64,843/- was allocated for the running of these 
schools. On the encroachments issue, it is stated that some of the 
schools were found partly encroached by some individuals, which were 
got removed and at present no encroachment exists in any school. No 
case is pending before any Court.  
 
D.G. KHAN 
79. 
 
According to the report of the District & Sessions Judge, 
D.G. Khan, 2044 schools are fully functional and there are 2 ghost 
schools in the district, however, Inspection of schools situated in 
interior tribal area could not be carried out due to security problems. 
Budgetary allocation and ratio of children studying in the schools are 
not mentioned. It has been stated that encroachments exist in three 
schools. Two cases concerning schools properties are pending before 
the Lahore High Court, Multan Bench, Multan whereas one is pending 
in the civil court.  
  
FAISALABAD 
80. 
 
As per report of the District & Sessions Judge, Faisalabad, 
2135 schools are fully functional and there is no ghost school in the 
district. A sum of Rs.9,333,860,143/- was allocated for the purpose of 
imparting education during the financial year whereas 96.5% children 
are studying in the schools. Encroachments exist in some of the 
schools, inter alia, due to non-sanction of mutations of schools 
properties. One case is pending before the Supreme Court and two are 
CONST.P. 37/2012 
 
42
cases pending before the District Judiciary, who have been directed to 
decide the case at the earliest.  
 
GUJRANWALA 
81. 
 
As per report of the District & Sessions Judge, Gujranwala, 
1671 schools are fully functional and 8 schools are in the nature of 
ghost schools. A sum of Rs.6,829,015,000/- was allocated for running 
of the schools in the district during the financial year. Ratio of children 
studying in schools has not been mentioned. Encroachments exist on 
58 schools, however, the Education Department had not initiated any 
proceedings against the encroachers. Two civil suits regarding 
encroachment of schools properties are pending before the Civil Court, 
however, there is no mention of stay order issued by the court.   
 
GUJRAT 
82. 
 
As per report of the District & Sessions Judge, Gujrat, 909 
schools are fully functional in the district whereas there are no ghost 
schools as such. Funds allocated and ratio of children studying in the 
schools in the area have not been mentioned in the report. It has been 
stated that there were some encroachments made by private 
individuals on the property of schools for which Education Department 
had not initiated any legal proceedings. Five cases are stated to be 
pending, but the report does not contain the details thereof.  
   
HAFIZABAD 
83. 
 
As per report of the District & Sessions Judge, Hafizabad, 
900 schools are fully functional and 6 are non-functional in the district 
and there are not ghost schools in the area. A sum of Rs.1639.888 
million was allocated in the budget for running of schools and 92% of 
children are studying in the schools. Students – teachers ratio is 34:1. 
CONST.P. 37/2012 
 
43
No encroachment is found in the schools. Three cases are pending 
before the Civil Courts filed in the year 2010 and 2012 in which main 
buildings of the schools are not under dispute, and the schools are 
properly working.  
  
JHANG 
84. 
 
As per report of the District & Sessions Judge, Jhang, 1665 
schools are fully functional and there are no ghost schools as such in 
the district. An amount of Rs.61.158 million was allocated for the 
purpose of running of schools during the financial year and 87% of 
children are studying in the schools. Neither any encroachment exists 
on the schools properties nor is any litigation concerning schools found 
in the district.  
 
JHELUM 
85. 
 
As per report of the District & Sessions Judge, Jhelum, 873 
schools are fully functional whereas there are no ghost schools in the 
district. An amount of Rs.2,464,927,610/- was allocated in the budget 
of the schools and 85% children of the area are studying in the 
schools. The administration of 5 schools complained of encroachments 
made by different persons on the schools property, but no action was 
taken by the Education Department. Three civil suits filed by private 
persons against the Province of Punjab and District Collector are 
pending adjudication in the Civil Courts. In one case, the school 
administration is alleged to have encroached upon property of private 
persons. Direction for early disposal of the cases has already been 
issued.  
  
 
 
 
CONST.P. 37/2012 
 
44
KASUR 
86. 
 
As per report of the District & Sessions Judge, Kasur, 1620 
schools are fully functional and there are no ghost schools as such in 
the district. An amount of Rs.3823.920 million was allocated in the 
budget for the schools whereas 93% children of the area are studying 
in the schools. Encroachments exist on schools properties for the 
reason, inter alia, that in one case the land donated for the school was 
not got mutated in favour of the Education Department, whereas in 
other cases, influential/criminal people have encroached upon the 
schools property completely or partly and the Education as well as the 
Revenue Department remained inactive to get the same removed. 
Only one case is pending before a Civil Court, which has been 
undertaken to be decided on the next date, i.e. 25.3.2013.  
 
KHANEWAL 
87. 
 
As per report of the District & Sessions Judge, Khanewal, 
1600 shcools are fully functional whereas no ghost school exists in the 
area. An amount of Rs.4630.010 million was allocated in the financial 
year 2012-13 for running of the schools while 96% children are 
studying in the schools in the this area. Encroachments exist on 
schools properties, either because of non-transfer of the property in 
question in favour of the Education Department due to inaction on the 
part of the Department. Ten civil suits were pending before the Civil 
Courts, out of which 2 have been finally decided and there is no stay 
order issued in the remaining cases. No concrete steps are being taken 
by the Education Department against the encroachers.  
 
 
 
 
  
CONST.P. 37/2012 
 
45
KHUSHAB 
88. 
 
As per report of the District & Sessions Judge, Khushab, 
1037 schools are fully functional and three schools are in the nature of 
ghost schools. An amount of Rs.3,776,671,000/- was allocated in the 
budget for the schools and 96.54% children of the area are studying in 
the schools. Encroachments exist on 14 schools properties due to lack 
of interest of the Education Department, improper demarcation of 
school property and non-availability of boundary walls of the schools. 
However, during physical verification, encroachments upon 12 schools 
were got removed. Two civil suits are pending before the Civil Courts 
and the reason for delay is the continuous strike of the bar, however, 
the concerned courts have been directed to expedite the cases. 
  
LAHORE 
89. 
 
As per report of the District & Sessions Judge, Lahore, 
1205 schools are fully functional whereas 6 schools are in the nature 
of ghost schools. An amount of Rs.1200 million was allocated in the 
budget for education in this district and 76% children are studying in 
the schools in the district. Encroachments exist on schools properties 
mainly due to inaction on the part of the Department. Twelve cases 
are pending adjudication before the Civil Courts and Additional District 
& Sessions Judges who have been directed to decide the same 
expeditiously keeping in view the directions of the Supreme Court. It is 
further stated that four cases are pending before the Supreme Court 
and the Lahore High Court, Lahore. 
 
LAYYAH 
90. 
 
As per report of the District & Sessions Judge, Layyah, 
1668 schools are fully functional and there is no ghost school in the 
CONST.P. 37/2012 
 
46
district. An amount of Rs.3,51,20,33,400/- was allocated in the budget 
for education and 95.37% children are studying in the schools in the 
area. Encroachments exist on 10 schools properties due to inaction on 
the part of the Education Department. However, during physical 
verification, encroachments were got removed from some of the 
schools by the judicial officers at the spot and in some matters the 
demarcation was required to be carried out. A case of encroachment 
by different persons upon the property of Govt. Elementary School, 
Chak No. 136/TDA was pending before DCO whereas a civil suit 
regarding Govt. Boys Primary school 293-TDA was pending in the Civil 
Court and no stay order has been passed in this case. However, 
direction has been issued to expedite disposal of these cases. 
 
LODHRAN 
91. 
 
As per report of the District & Sessions Judge, Lodhran, 
797 schools are fully functional whereas there are no ghost schools in 
the district. An amount of Rs.3.82 million was allocated in the budget 
for education and 83% children are studying in schools in the area. 
Partial encroachments exist upon the properties of schools due to 
inaction on the part of the Education Department.  Eight cases were 
pending out of which three have been decided and the remaining 5 
have been undertaken to be decided expeditiously.  
 
MANDI BAHAUDDIN 
92. 
 
As per report of the District & Sessions Judge, Mandi 
Bahauddin, 987 schools are fully functional whereas there are no ghost 
schools as such in the district. An amount of Rs.12.010 million was 
allocated in the budget for education during the financial year 2012-13 
and 90% children are studying in schools in the district. Partial 
CONST.P. 37/2012 
 
47
encroachments exist upon 12 schools by private persons mainly 
because of political influence of the encroachers and the inaction on 
the part of the Education Department. Two out of five cases have been 
decided by the civil courts and direction for expeditious decision of 
remaining three cases has already been issued.  
  
MIANWALI 
93. 
 
As per report of the District & Sessions Judge, Mianwali 
1140 schools are fully functional, whereas there are no ghost schools 
in the district. An amount of Rs.2,601,975,523/- was allocated in the 
budget for education in the district during the financial year and ratio 
of children who are studying in the schools in the district is 93%. 
Encroachments exist upon the schools properties due to inaction on 
the part of the Education Department, however, no school was being 
used as Baithak/Authak or residence. Four civil suits, one civil appeal 
and one criminal case FIR No. 177/2012 u/s 447/427 PPC registered 
with Police Station Qamar Mushani against one Shafi Ullah are pending 
adjudication before different courts, however, there is no mention of 
any stay order having been issued by the courts in any matter.  
  
MULTAN 
94. 
 
As per report of the District & Sessions Judge, Multan, 
1434 schools are fully functional whereas there are no ghost schools 
as such in the district. An amount of Rs.5,120.448 million was 
allocated in the budget for education in the district during the financial 
year. As regards the ratio of children studying in the schools, it has 
been stated that 300,000 students are studying in Government schools 
and 
more 
than 
120,000 
are 
studying 
in 
private 
schools. 
Encroachments exist upon schools properties due to inaction of the 
CONST.P. 37/2012 
 
48
Education and the Revenue Departments. One case is pending before 
the Settlement and Rehabilitation Commissioner, one before the 
Additional Commissioner (Revenue), two before the DCO and two 
before the Civil Courts. However, there is no mention of issuance of 
any injunctive order in any of the above cases.   
 
MUZAFFARGARH 
95. 
 
As 
per 
report 
of 
the 
District 
& 
Sessions 
Judge, 
Muzaffargarh, 2089 schools are fully functional and 24 schools are in 
the nature of ghost schools in the district. An amount of Rs. 233.522 
million was allocated in the budget for education in the district and 100 
% children are studying in the schools in the area. Encroachments 
existed upon three schools’ buildings due to inaction on the part of 
Education Department, but the same were got cleared from the 
encroachers through the DCO, Muzaffargarh. Nine cases are pending 
pertaining to schools properties and the concerned courts have been 
directed to expedite the same.  
 
NANKANA SAHIB  
96. 
 
As per report of the District & Sessions Judge, Nankana 
Sahib, 734 schools are fully functional and there are no ghost schools 
in the district. An mount of Rs.2308.953 million was allocated in the 
budget for education in the district during the financial year, and the 
ratio of children studying in the schools is 95.8 %. Portions of about 10 
schools are reported to be under illegal occupation of different persons 
and are being used as cattleshed, but none of the schools is being 
used as Baithak/Authak. The Education Department did not initiate 
action to remove the encroachments. Two civil suits claimed by 
CONST.P. 37/2012 
 
49
Education Department were not found to be pending before any court, 
thus, there is no litigation concerning the schools in the district. 
  
NAROWAL 
97. 
 
As per report of the District & Sessions Judge, Narowal, 
1280 schools are fully functional and 14 schools are in the nature of 
ghost schools. An amount of Rs.1,384,384,080/- was allocated in the 
budget for education in the district during the financial year and 97.72 
% children are studying in the schools in the district. Encroachments 
by influential persons upon schools’ properties were found and the 
same were got cleared through the local administration except one 
Masjid Maktab School at Takkiya plot Jandarwal, Tehsil and District 
Narowal encroached by two individuals who had tied their cattle and 
placed dung cakes and the same happened due to inaction of the 
Education Department. The report is silent about litigation concerning 
properties of schools in the district.  
  
OKARA 
98. 
 
As per report of the District & Sessions Judge, Okara, 1671 
schools are fully functional and there are no ghost schools as such in 
the district. An amount of Rs.2,399.085 million was allocated in the 
budget for education in the district during the financial year. Ratio of 
children studying in the school has not been mentioned in the report. 
Encroachments upon some of the schools’ properties were found due 
to inaction of the Education Department, but the same were got 
vacated from the encroachers. Four civil suits without any stay order 
are pending adjudication between private persons and Education 
Department, but the schools were functioning in the said buildings.  
 
  
CONST.P. 37/2012 
 
50
PAKPATTAN 
99. 
 
As per report of the District & Sessions Judge, Pakpattan, 
910 schools are fully functional and there are no ghost schools as such 
in the district. An amount of Rs.2,132.215 million was allocated in the 
budget for running of schools in the area and the ratio of children 
studying in schools is 63.07 %. Encroachments upon some of the 
schools’ properties by local people were found due to inaction of the 
Education Department, but no school building was being used as 
Baithak/Authak and the illegal possessions were got removed through 
the DCO Pakpattan Sharif. A civil suit pertaining to the property of 
Government Girls High School, 66/EB, Tehsil Arifwala is pending before 
the Civil Court in which stay was vacated whereas one matter is 
pending before the Board of Revenue, Punjab and the DCO Pakpattan 
Sharif has been required to pursue the said matter. 
 
RAHIM YAR KHAN 
100.  
As per report of the District & Sessions Judge, Rahim Yar 
Khan, 37 shelterless/non-functional schools, 25 non-functional due to 
non-availability of teachers, 884 schools without electricity, 435 
without boundary walls, 180 schools without toilets, 110 shelterless 
but functional, 13 schools shifted to other places or merged with other 
schools, 22 schools in rented buildings, 117 schools with dangerous 
buildings, 4 schools under part-encroachment, 2 fully encroached 
schools, 4 facing litigation exist in the district whereas land of 46 
schools has not been mutated in favour of the Education Department. 
However, the report does not mention the budgetary allocation and 
the ratio of the school going children in the district. As regards the 
encroachments issue, it has been stated that a committee be formed 
to work out concrete proposals to remove illegal possessions and to 
CONST.P. 37/2012 
 
51
provide missing facilities to all the schools. It was further stated that 
the ban imposed by the Election Commission of Pakistan on 
development activities ought not to be treated as a hurdle in the 
provision of missing facilities or addressing the miserable conditions of 
schools. Utilization of funds for these purposes cannot be taken as 
initiating new schemes within the contemplation of ECP directive 
considering the sanctity attached to the educational institutions and no 
political motive or agenda ought to be attributed to the execution of 
schools related works.  
 
RAJANPUR  
101.  
As per report of the District & Sessions Judge, Rajanpur, 
490 schools are fully functional in the district whereas there are no 
ghost schools as such. An amount of Rs.248,317,620/- was allocated 
in the budget for education in the district during the financial year 
whereas 32 % boys and 24% girls of the age of 4 to 13 years in the 
district are studying in the schools. Encroachments upon some of the 
schools’ buildings by private persons were found due to inaction of the 
Education Department, but the same were got removed at the spot. 
No case concerning schools properties is pending before any forum.  
 
RAWALPINDI 
102.  
As per report of the District & Sessions Judge, Rawalpindi, 
1993 schools are fully functional but 10 schools located in hard areas 
are not functional due to non-enrolment of students as people have 
migrated to urban areas of the district, however, there are no ghost 
schools as such. In all, 30 schools are lying vacant due to above 
reason or having been merged into other schools as per policy of the 
Government. An amount of Rs.5,790,942,000/- was allocated in the 
CONST.P. 37/2012 
 
52
budget for education in the district during the financial year. 70.5% 
children are studying in Provincial Government schools whereas 29.5% 
are studying in private schools or in the Federal Government schools. 
Encroachments upon some of the schools buildings exist mainly due to 
disputes of demarcation, but none of the schools was being used for 
Baithak/Authak. 16 cases were pending in different courts including 
the Lahore High Court, Rawalpindi Bench, and the Revenue Courts. In 
5 cases, status quo order has been issued against the Education 
Department while in 3 cases status quo order has been issued in 
favour of the Department. The learned District & Sessions Judge has 
issued direction to Civil/Revenue Courts to expedite the disposal of 
such cases.  
 
SAHIWAL 
103.  
As per report of the District & Sessions Judge, Sahiwal, 
1204 schools are fully functional and there are no ghost schools in the 
district. An amount of Rs.359,790,696/- was allocated for education in 
the district during the financial year and 98 % children in the district 
are studying in the schools. As regards encroachments upon schools’ 
buildings, it has been stated that some portions of property of four 
schools were occupied illegally by some individuals, which were got 
vacated. The property of two schools was in possession of the Govt. 
Departments (Janbaz Force and Food Department). Three civil suits 
are pending adjudication.   
  
SARGODHA 
104.  
As per report of the District & Sessions Judge, Sargodha, 
2042 schools are fully functional and there are no ghost schools as 
such. An amount of Rs.5,573.137 million was allocated for education in 
CONST.P. 37/2012 
 
53
the district during the financial year and the ratio of children who are 
studying in the schools in the district is 43 %. Encroachments exist 
upon 87 schools made by influential and the people neighbouring the 
schools premises due to inaction on the part of the Education 
Department to take legal action against encroachers. Five cases were 
pending adjudication between Education Department and private 
persons involving encroachments upon the schools properties. The 
concerned Courts have been directed to decide the same as quickly as 
possible.  
 
SHEIKHUPURA 
105.  
As per report of District & Sessions Judge, Sheikhupura, as 
a whole there are 1597 Government schools, out of which 1426 
schools are fully functional while 130 schools were merged with other 
schools, and there are 41 non-functional schools in the district, but 
there are no ghost schools as such. An amount of Rs.3,412.515 million 
was allocated for education in the district during the financial year and 
85 % children are studying in the schools. As regards encroachments 
upon schools’ buildings’, it has been stated that 11 schools were under 
illegal occupation and five of the encroachers were facing criminal 
cases side by side civil cases whereas in two matters, civil suits were 
pending in the Civil Courts. The Courts have been directed to be 
brought on the fast track cases.  
 
SIALKOT 
106.  
As per report of the District & Sessions Judge, Sialkot, 
1992 schools are fully functional whereas 6 schools which are in the 
nature of ghost schools. An amount of Rs. 5,650,173,009/- was 
allocated for education in the district during the financial year and 20% 
CONST.P. 37/2012 
 
54
children are studying in the schools. All the schools in the rural areas 
are in dilapidated condition. 90% of the schools were without furniture 
and the remaining schools were having furniture of cheap quality, 
which was arranged by the teachers by collecting Rs.20/- from each 
student on account of Farogh-e-Taleem Fund. Students were sitting on 
the ground with fertilizer plastic bags underneath. 90% of the students 
had no books. The teachers did not give the appearance becoming of a 
teacher to be a role model for the students. Most of the officials of the 
Education Department were not visiting the schools. Furthermore, they 
had no control over the teachers/staff due to frequent political 
intervention, or blackmailing through anti-corruption department. 
From that point of view, none of the Government schools could be 
termed as properly functional. As regards encroachments upon 
schools’ buildings’, it has been stated that most of the encroachments 
were found due to negligence of Education Department. In response to 
question regarding litigation concerning properties of school, it has 
been stated that five civil suits are pending adjudication between the 
private individuals and the Education Department before civil courts, 
which will be decided within a shortest possible time.  
 
TOBA TEK SINGH 
107.  
As per report of the District & Sessions Judge, Toba Tek 
Singh, 1199 schools are fully functional whereas there are no ghost 
schools in the district. An amount of Rs. 3,698,229,200/- was 
allocated for education in the district during the financial year and 
99.64 
% 
children 
are 
studying in 
the 
schools. 
As 
regards 
encroachments upon schools’ buildings’, it has been stated that 29 
schools were found encroached. Two civil cases concerning properties 
of schools are pending before the Civil Courts. The Education 
CONST.P. 37/2012 
 
55
Department was not pursuing the encroachment cases diligently. The 
DCO and the Education Department have been directed to remove the 
encroachments.   
 
VEHARI 
108.  
As per report of the District & Sessions Judge, Vehari, 
1562 schools are fully functional whereas there are no ghost schools in 
the district. An amount of Rs. 2,321,821,479/-was allocated for 
education in the district during the financial year. It is stated that the 
ratio of children studying in the schools is given in Annexure-C, 
however, no Annexure has been attached with the report. As regards 
encroachments upon schools’ lands/buildings, it has been stated that 
45 schools were found under illegal occupation of different people due 
to inaction on the part of the Education Department. However, 37 
schools were got vacated by the Assistant Commissioner on the 
request of the Education Department. Civil Revision No. 77-D of 2008 
with status quo order is pending before Lahore High Court, Multan 
Bench and two cases are pending without issuance of status quo order 
with the Member, Board of Revenue, Lahore.  
109.  
Mr. Babar Ali, learned Deputy Attorney General for 
Pakistan, by means of CMA 3748/2013, filed a summary on the 
conditions of schools in the Province of the Punjab. According to the 
said summary, there are 57814 fully functional schools whereas there 
is no ghost school as such in the Province, but some of the schools are 
non-functional due to shortage of teaching staff and lack of 
communication/infrastructure. As regards ratio of children studying in 
schools in the Province, it is stated that only 20% of the children of the 
age group of 5-16 years are studying in schools. It is further stated 
that to implement Article 25A, more funds are required for recruitment 
CONST.P. 37/2012 
 
56
of teachers, however, the newly elected Government has shown 
commitment to focus on education. On the question pertaining to 
encroachments upon the schools properties, the learned law officer 
stated that encroachments are partially due to the following reasons: -  
(i) 
Commercial interests in the urban area. 
(ii) 
Social power and control of landlords in the rural area.  
(iii) 
Ambiguous ownership documents. 
(iv) 
Political and social power of land mafia versus unprotected 
weak local school administration. 
(v) 
Weak legal support in litigation wing.  
(vi) 
Lack of proper management information system.  
 
110.  
To overcome the aforesaid problems and address the 
issues so pointed out, the learned law officer made the following 
suggestions/recommendations: -  
(i) 
The Government may be required to allocate huge amount 
of money for realization of Article 25A. 
(ii) 
The private sector has to be promoted to share the 
burden.  
(iii) 
Household based taxation for education needs to be 
introduced in the Local Government System to increase 
resources to be utilized.  
(iv) 
Necessary legislation for compulsory education with a 
regime of incentives and punitive actions requires to be 
enacted.  
(v) 
Education management needs to be strengthened with 
more capacity to monitor and take prompt decision/action.   
(vi) 
Management Information System should be IT based.  
(vii) Decentralization of authority at the local and institutional 
level.  
 
 
PROVINCE OF SINDH  
 
111.  
The information/data pertaining to all the districts in the 
Province of Sindh provided by all the District & Sessions Judges in the 
Sindh received from the Registrar, High Court of Sindh is as under: -  
 
BADIN 
112.  
As per report of the District & Sessions Judge, Badin, 2897 
schools are fully functional, whereas 294 schools are in the nature of 
ghost schools. A sum of Rs.41,731,669/- was allocated for education 
CONST.P. 37/2012 
 
57
during the financial year and 57.6% of children are studying in the 
schools in the district. The reason for encroachments on the schools 
properties is due to inaction on the part of higher authorities of the 
Education Department. The encroachers are either high Government 
officials or influential persons of the locality, as such, no action against 
them has been taken and no litigation is pending in this regard.  
 
BENAZIRABAD 
113.  
As 
per 
report 
of 
the 
District 
& 
Sessions 
Judge, 
Benazirabad, out of 2720 schools, 2365 schools are fully functional, 
202 schools were non-functional and 355 schools are in the nature of 
ghost schools. A sum of Rs.62,688,000/- against SMC funds and 
Rs.57,111,500/- against regular budget was allocated during the 
financial year, whereas 53 % of children are studying in the schools in 
the district. Encroachments exist on the properties of 112 School by 
influential persons and villagers. On the question pertaining to 
litigation concerning schools lands, it has been stated that 2 matters 
are pending in the courts in this regard.  
 
DADU 
114.  
As per report of the District & Sessions Judge, Dadu, 1924 
schools are fully functional, whereas 271 schools are ghost schools in 
the district. A sum of Rs.407,862,000/- was allocated for education 
during the financial year, whereas 46% of children are studying in 
schools in the district. The reasons for encroachments on the schools 
properties are that the schools were not functioning regularly and lack 
of interest on the part of the officials of the Education Department. 
Encroachers are influential persons of locality, as such no action was 
taken by the Department against them and no legal proceedings were 
CONST.P. 37/2012 
 
58
initiated. No litigation is pending between the Education Department 
and private persons who had allegedly encroached upon the properties 
of schools.   
 
GHOTKI  
115.  
As per report of the District & Sessions Judge, Ghotki, 
1833 schools are fully functional, 189 schools are non-functional, 48 
are ghost schools and 24 are in the nature of occupied schools in the 
district. An amount of Rs.1,213,170,370/-was allocated for education 
during the financial year. As regards ratio of children studying in 
schools, 70% students are shown present whereas 43% are shown 
absent. Some of the schools have been encroached upon by private 
persons, Police Department and NADRA, however, some of the schools 
were got vacated and possession thereof was handed over to the 
Education Department. No litigation exists in the district. 
 
HYDERABAD 
116.  
The District & Sessions Judge, Hyderabad has stated in the 
report that as per Education Department, there are 983 Primary & 
Elementary Schools and 97 Secondary & Higher Secondary Schools. It 
has been stated that according to the report of the Education 
Department, there are no ghost schools in the district. The District & 
Sessions Judge has further stated that ghost schools have been 
noticed in the area by the judicial officers in their reports, however, 
the said reports are not enclosed with the report of the District & 
Sessions Judge. It has been stated that the schools are in miserable 
condition due to mismanagement, inasmuch as there was no water 
and no washrooms. Schools buildings are not maintained. Schools are 
established in the Ahatas (bounded premises) meant for visitors in the 
CONST.P. 37/2012 
 
59
villages. Some were being used as cattle ponds. The Education 
Department made certain schools functional by temporarily bringing 
children and students from the villages or from other schools. 
Untrained and uneducated persons were working as teachers.   
 
JACOBABAD 
117.  
As per report of the District & Sessions Judge, Jacobabad, 
952 schools are fully functional whereas 328 schools are non-
functional and 191 are in the nature of ghost schools in the district. 73 
schools of Taluka Thul mentioned in the list provided by the Education 
Department were not traced out for survey. As regards the amount of 
funds being spent for imparting education to the children, it is stated 
that SMC funds of Rs.22,000/- for each Primary School, Rs.50,000/- 
for each Middle School and Rs.100,000/- for each Higher Secondary 
Schools have been allocated for the purpose. However, as per report 
of DEO, Jacobabad, no such fund has been released by Reform 
Support Unit during year 2012. The number of students is 176,149 
and the ratio of school going children in the district is 78.63%. 
Encroachments exist on 52 schools, but no action has been initiated by 
the Education Department. A portion of school land measuring 2000 
square feet was forcibly occupied by the then DEO, namely, Mr. Shan 
Muhammad Brohi who built a mini-bungalow therein, which was found 
to have been sealed by NAB authorities while probing into the alleged 
bogus appointments by said DEO as per letter No. DC/JB/296/2013 
dated 6.3.2013.   
 
118.  
The District & Sessions Judge Jacobabad further stated 
that a large number of schools were found to be without electricity, 
drinking water, washrooms, sweeper, peon and the buildings of most 
CONST.P. 37/2012 
 
60
of the schools were found in dilapidated condition and not suitable for 
education. He further remarked that the supervisory staff of the 
Education Department never visit the schools and the feasibility 
reports for construction of schools are prepared according to the 
wishes of the local land lords/political figure. Five schools, namely, 
Government Boys Primary School, Government Boys Middle School, 
Government Boys High School, Dost Muhammad Sarki, Government 
Girls Primary School and Government Girls Middle School, Dost 
Muhammad Fazlani have been established in a village of about ten 
houses with an area of 20 Ghuntas. The District & Sessions Judge has 
further remarked as under:- 
(i) 
Out of above five schools only one school GBPS Dost 
Muhammad Sarki was functioning, while GGMS Dost 
Muhammad Fazlani and GBHS Dost Muhammad Sarki were 
said to be under construction.  
 
(ii) 
Another school namely, Govt. Girls middle School 
Special Force consisting of five rooms was constructed with 
estimated cots of Rs.15,00,000/- (Fifteen lacs) wherein the 
school functioned for few years but later on the school was 
shifted to the building of Govt. (b) primary school Rahim 
Bux Soomro were it is running in evening shift and the 
building constructed for the said school is lying vacant un-
attended, 
for 
which, 
the 
education 
department 
is 
responsible for preparing feasibility report for the place 
where they are unable to educate female children and a 
probe is required, for taking necessary action against the 
responsible officers, as such in future the public money be 
utilized properly.” 
 
(iii) 
Another school, namely, Govt. Middle School Rahim 
Bux Soomro upgraded to Govt. High School Ahmed Mian 
Soomro in year-1995 and 08 rooms were constructed with 
estimated costs of Rs.19,87,950/-, which too remained un-
attended and in damaged condition, for which, probe is 
also required. It is also main reason behind the above 
number of schools shown by the education department 
being non-functional.” 
 
(iv) 
During survey it was also found that the transfers 
and postings of the teaching staff are not proportionate to 
the number of students, but it appears that the transfers 
and postings are being made under the influence of 
teachers’ union or otherwise. 
 
CONST.P. 37/2012 
 
61
The District & Sessions Judge has concluded that loss of public money 
as depicted from the above mentioned facts requires attention by the 
Education Department. 
 
JAMSHORO 
119.  
As per report of the District & Sessions Judge, Jamshoro, 
out of a total of 918 schools, 698 schools are fully functional, 145 
schools are non-functional and 71 ghost schools in the district. A sum 
of Rs.137,075,991/-was allocated for education during the financial 
year. 43.5% children are studying in the schools in the district. 
Encroachments exist upon four schools properties, whereas one case is 
pending.  
120.  
As regards condition of schools as observed during 
physical survey conducted with the assistance of Additional District & 
Sessions Judges Kotri and Sehwin and President & General Secretary 
of the District Bar Association, the District & Sessions Judge Jamshoro 
at Kotri stated that 71 ghost schools were found while 145 schools 
were found closed. He further stated that a large number of school 
were found without electricity, drinking water, washrooms and proper 
furniture. Maintenance and repair work of the schools buildings was 
not done since long and most of the school buildings were found in 
dilapidated condition, which showed that funds allocated for the said 
purpose were not being utilized properly. Some of the schools were 
under-staffed whereas others were over-staffed. Some schools were 
found closed due to flood and consequential migration of the people of 
the locality. The transfers and postings of the officers of the Education 
Department appear to be made under political influence. He has 
concluded that if an honest audit of the accounts of the Education 
CONST.P. 37/2012 
 
62
Department is conducted, it would reveal huge corruption and 
mismanagement.  
 
KARACHI CENTRAL  
121.  
As per report of the District & Sessions Judge, Karachi 
Central, 706 schools are fully functional, whereas there is no ghost 
school in the district. A sum of Rs.4,480,884,922/-was allocated for 
education during the financial year. The number of children of the age 
group between 5 to 16 years is 269,279 whereas the number of 
children enrolled in the schools is 124,244; thus, ratio of children 
studying in schools is 47.73%. On encroachments issue, it has been 
stated that two schools are partly encroached upon, however, no 
action has been taken by the Education Department except reporting 
to high-ups. No school is being used as baithak/authak and no 
litigation concerning schools properties is pending before any forum.  
 
KARACHI MALIR  
122.  
As per report of the District & Sessions Judge, Malir, 
(Karachi), 612 schools are fully functional, whereas there are three 
ghost schools in the district. A sum of Rs.1,204,359,561/- was 
allocated for education during the financial year. Ratio of children 
studying in schools is 20%. There are also 56 KMC schools and all of 
them are fully functional. A sum of Rs.8,490,979/- was allocated for 
education during the financial year. Ratio of children studying in KMC 
schools is 19%. Encroachments exist on one Government school and 
three KMC schools. The reasons for encroachments are inaction and 
lack of interest on the part of the officials of the Education Department 
and political influence. In one case, FIR No.40/2008 under section 
448/511/427 PPC was registered at P.S. Sukhun, but no progress is 
CONST.P. 37/2012 
 
63
known to the Education Department. Two schools, namely, GGPS Lala 
Abad and GBPS Future Colony were encroached upon by the local 
persons, however, the same were restored to the Education 
Department.  
 
KARACHI EAST  
123.  
The Additional District & Sessions Judge, Karachi East, 
stated that as per information provided by the Secretary, Education 
Department, Government of Sindh, there are 574 schools, out of which 
three schools are temporarily closed. However, the details of schools 
provided by the Education Department did not match with the record 
of the Reforms Support Unit, which showed that the total number of 
schools is 739. Though the Education Department reported that there 
were no ghost schools in the district, but during physical verification, 
the Department failed to identify 12 schools whereas 20 schools were 
found to be non-functional.   
124.  
As per initial information, a sum of Rs.28,172,000/- was 
allocated for education during the financial year. However, upon calling 
the details, it was found that a sum of Rs.2,170,110,072/- was 
allocated for the purpose, which showed a major discrepancy.  
125.  
One Abdul Rehman Khan, General Secretary, Taleem 
Bachao Action Committee submitted application alleging therein that 
the Department has empowered non-gazetted staff to exercise the 
powers of Drawing & Disbursing Officer and besides, one DDO has 
been assigned several DDOs’ assignment against the rules and 
regulations without any checks and balance system in place.  
126.  
The ratio of children studying in the schools in the district 
was not available with the Education Department, however, the 
relevant information was obtained from NADRA, according to which it 
CONST.P. 37/2012 
 
64
is 
33.13%. 
As 
regards 
encroachments 
issue, 
the 
Education 
Department stated that no encroachments exist upon any of the 
schools, however, during physical verification, 20 schools were found 
to be encroached. On the litigation issue, the Education Department 
stated that no case is pending before any forum, however, during 
physical verification, the Headmasters of seven schools informed that 
litigation is pending before different forums.  
 
KARACHI SOUTH  
127.  
As per report of the District & Sessions Judge, Karachi 
South, out of 427 schools, 376 are fully functional whereas 49 schools 
seem to be ghost schools in the district. As regards the allocation of 
fund, it was stated that a sum of Rs. 22000/- per school was allocated 
as per information gathered from departmental authorities, however, 
the schools/department authorities failed to provide any official 
document showing the allocation of funds and did not show the details 
of expenditure. The ratio of children studying in the schools in the 
district is 40.6%. On encroachments issue, it has been stated that a 
portion of GBPS, Genu Bai G. Allana, U.C. 2, Lyari, was found to have 
been encroached upon by U.C. 1, Agra Taj Colony, however, no action 
was taken by the departmental authorities. On the litigation issue, it 
was stated that no case is pending before any forum.   
128.  
During physical verification, it was observed that the 
department is suffering from mismanagement and maladministration, 
inasmuch as a number of teachers were on the pay rolls of the 
department, but no record pertaining to their appointment/posting was 
provided by the department. Similarly, no record pertaining to repair 
and renovation of the schools buildings was made available. 
CONST.P. 37/2012 
 
65
Furthermore, the schools buildings were found in a worst condition, 
which is not suitable for imparting education to the children.  
 
KARACHI WEST  
129.  
As per report of the District & Sessions Judge, Karachi 
West, 405 schools are fully functional whereas there are 12 ghost 
schools and a sum of Rs.1,455,907,241/- was allocated for education 
during the financial year. The ratio of children studying in schools is 
31.15%. However, the above figures given by the District & Sessions 
Judge do not tally with the figures given by the judicial officers of the 
district through whom the exercise was got carried out. A perusal of 
the data attached with the report of the District & Sessions Judge 
showed that there are 464 schools in the district, out of which 14 
schools are partially functional, 22 schools are non-functional and 6 
are ghost schools in the district. Furthermore, a sum of Rs. 
1,459,569,038/- was allocated for education during the financial year. 
The District & Sessions Judge further stated that as per NADRA, 
record, 195,870 children are enrolled in schools and ratio of children 
studying in schools is 31.15%. As regards the reasons for 
encroachments, it has been stated that due to lack of will of the Heads 
of the schools and political pressure, no action has been taken. As per 
report of the department, no case is pending.  
130.  
The judicial officers noticed lack of electricity, drinking 
water, washrooms and proper furniture. Maintenance and repair work 
of the schools buildings was not done since long and most of the 
school buildings were found in dangerous condition, which showed that 
funds allocated for the said purpose were not being utilized properly.  
 
 
 
CONST.P. 37/2012 
 
66
KASHMORE AT KANDHKOT 
131.  
As per report of the District & Sessions Judge, Kashmore 
at Kandhkot, out of 1579 schools, 1294 are functional and 285 are 
non-functional schools and there are no ghost schools in the district. 
As regards the allocation of fund, it has been stated that SMC funds 
per year, (1) Rs.22000/- for Primary Schools, (2) Rs.50,000/- for 
Middle Schools, (3) Rs.100,000/- for High & Higher Secondary Schools 
(total funds of the district are Rs.30,152,000/-) were allocated, 
however, no record for utilizing the said funds was produced during 
the visit of schools. 67% children are studying in the schools in the 
district. 23 schools have been encroached and are being used for 
residential purposes, whereas 7 encroached schools are being used as 
baithak/authak. Schools are sanctioned unnecessarily in small villages 
and school buildings are encroached upon by Waderas. Due to political 
reasons, no action has been taken against them. No litigation 
concerning schools properties is pending before any forum.   
 
KHAIRPUR MIR’S 
 
132.  
As per report of the District & Sessions Judge, Khairpur 
Mir’s, out of 3490 schools, 3381 schools are fully functional, 125 are 
non-functional schools having been closed for different reasons, many 
schools are without buildings, and are being run in other schools 
buildings, a large number of schools were short of furniture, fixtures, 
staff, however, there are no ghost schools in the district. Ratio of 
children studying in schools is 35% in the district. As regards 
allocation of funds for the purpose, it has been stated that SMC funds 
per year, (1) Rs.22000/- for Primary Schools, (2) Rs.50,000/- for 
Middle Schools, (3) Rs.100,000/- for High & Higher Secondary Schools 
(total funds of the district are Rs.2,681,272,860/-) were allocated. 
CONST.P. 37/2012 
 
67
Survey of the schools revealed that 11 schools have been encroached 
upon, however, encroachments upon three schools were got removed 
through the Court orders. It was further stated that two schools have 
been occupied by the owners of the land donated by them for 
establishing schools, who were demanding jobs in lieu of the land 
provided by them. Three schools were being used by influential 
persons for baithak/personal use, which were got vacated by the 
department.  The main reasons for encroachments are lack of will on 
the part of the departmental authorities and political pressure. On 
litigation concerning schools properties, it has been stated that 2 cases 
are pending in the court of law.  
 
LARKANA 
 
133.  
As per report of the District & Sessions Judge, Larkana, 
1356 schools are fully functional, 15 schools are non-functional, 
however, there are no ghost schools in the district. A sum of 
Rs.24,135,342/-was allocated for education during the financial year. 
The ratio of children studying in schools is 51.67% in the district. As 
regards the encroachments issue, it has been stated that 10 schools 
are encroached by landowners, 3 by influential persons, 3 by police, 1 
by Rangers and 11 by others, thus in all 28 schools have been 
encroached. On litigation issue, it has been stated that no litigation 
exists between education department and private persons at the 
district level. However, the High Court of Sindh, Circuit Court, Larkana, 
through its combined order on petitions of plot donors has directed the 
plot donors to submit details of record and has also directed the 
Education Department to process their cases for their appointment in 
lieu of plots donated by them.   
 
CONST.P. 37/2012 
 
68
MATIARI 
 
134.  
As per report of the District & Sessions Judge, Matiari, out 
of 990 schools, 853 are fully functional whereas 137 closed/non-
functional schools in whole District (92 in Taluka Miatiari, 11 in 
TalukaHala and 34 in Taluka Saeedabad). As regards allocation of 
funds for the purpose, it has been stated that for welfare of schools, 
Rs.22,000/- for each Primary Schools, Rs.50,000/- for each Middle 
Schools and Rs.100,000/- for each High & Higher Secondary Schools 
have been provided, whereas total funds have been provided under 
five heads, namely, (1) School Specific Budget amounting to 
Rs.84,000,000/-, (2) SMC Funds amounting to Rs.26,218,000/-, (3) 
Stipends to Girls from class 6 to 10 amounting to Rs.17,887,200/-, (4) 
Free Text Books amounting to Rs.26,376,300/- and (5) SERP(TOP) 
amounting to Rs.100,000,000/-, totalling Rs.254,481,500/- for the 
financial year. 35% of children are studying in the schools in the 
district. 
135.  
During survey by the Judicial Officers no High School or 
Secondary School found encroached in the District Matiari; however, 
encroachments exist in 6 Primary Schools. The common reason over 
the encroachment of the said schools is that due to no availability of 
the teachers the Villagers occupied it. Some of the Schools found 
constructed in the area where there is no population and those Schools 
are also occupied by the adjoining Zamindars. No action taken by the 
local administration or by the Education Department in this regard. 
No litigation is pending in the Courts at District Matiari. However, the 
Education Department informed that a School namely Government 
Girls Community Primary School, Bakhar Jamali situated in Taluka 
Saeedabad is under litigation between the private person and the 
CONST.P. 37/2012 
 
69
Education Department before the High Court of Sindh Hyderabad 
Circuit [Sujawal Jamali v. The Secretary Education and Literacy 
Government of Sindh Karachi (C.P NO. D-149 of 2010)]. 
 
MIRPURKHAS 
136.  
As per report of the District & Sessions Judge, Mirpurkhas, 
1774 schools are fully functional and 24 schools are those which are 
ghost schools in the district. As regards the allocation of funds, it has 
been stated that Rs. 2,251,770,459/- was allocated in this regard, 
whereas 15.5% boys and 8.6% girls are studying in the schools in the 
district. On question pertaining to encroachments upon schools’ 
buildings, or the schools’ buildings being used for purposes other than 
education, it has been stated that encroachments exist in 3 schools. 
On the question pertaining to litigation concerning schools lands, it has 
been stated that 2 cases are pending in the court of law. 
 
NAUSHARO FEROZE  
137.  
As per report of the District & Sessions Judge Nausharo 
Feroze, out of 2473 schools, 2278 are fully functional and 195 are 
non-functional. However no ghost school exists in the District. A sum 
of Rs.3,231,842,760/- was allocated for education during the financial 
year. The ratio of children enrolled and getting education in 
Government schools has not been given. On the question pertaining to 
litigation concerning schools lands, it has been stated that 1 case is 
pending in the court of law. On question pertaining to encroachments 
upon schools’ buildings, or the schools’ buildings being used for 
purposes other than education, no answer has been given. 
 
 
 
 
CONST.P. 37/2012 
 
70
SANGHAR 
138.  
As per report of the District & Sessions Judge, Sanghar, 
out of 3188 schools, 2873 are fully functional whereas 315 are in the 
nature of ghost schools. A sum of Rs.2,881,266,770/- was allocated 
for education during the financial year, whereas 71.83% of children 
are studying in the schools in the district. Encroachments exist upon 
land/buildings of 17 schools. On the question pertaining to litigation 
concerning schools lands, it has been stated that 6 matters pertaining 
to litigation are pending in the courts.  
 
SUKKUR 
139.  
As per report of the District & Sessions Judge, Sukkur, out 
of 1335 schools, 1193 are fully functional, 13 are partly functional and 
108 are closed school, whereas there are no ghost school in the area. 
As regards allocation of funds for the purpose, it has been stated that 
SMC funds per year, (1) Rs.22,000/- for Primary Schools, (2) 
Rs.50,000/- for Middle Schools, (3) Rs.100,000/- for High & Higher 
Secondary Schools (total funds of the district are Rs.1,616,780,890/-) 
were allocated. The ratio of children studying in the schools in the 
district is 28.068%. The encroachments exist in 21 schools and the 
reasons for such encroachments are that some of the schools have 
been built on the land donated by persons of the locality and due to 
non-appointment of their person they have occupied the same, some 
of the schools buildings have been occupied by the powerful persons of 
the locality and used as baithak/authak, and some of the schools 
buildings have been using for other purpose due to lack of interest of 
education specially in rural areas. The Education department though 
got registered FIRs against the said persons but due to their political 
influence the concerned authorities are reluctant to get the same 
CONST.P. 37/2012 
 
71
vacated. However, no civil litigation between the education department 
and the private persons before the courts.  
140.  
During visit of Additional District & Sessions Judge, Sukkur 
two schools were got vacated peacefully. It was further stated that 
during physical verification, it was found that conditions of the schools 
were deplorable having least basic facilities. Some of the schools are 
shelter less and require proper building. Heavy budget is shown to 
have been allocated against non-salary expenditure, but it appears 
that same is not being used for providing basic facilities in the schools. 
The buildings require repair, furniture, drinking water and appointment 
of teachers against vacant posts. It was also suggested that if judicial 
officers are deputed to do surprise visit of the schools every month, 
the deplorable condition of education can be changed.  
 
TANDO ALLAHYAR 
141.  
As per report of the District & Sessions Judge, Tando 
Allahyar, there are 843 schools in the district out of which 803 are fully 
functional 
whereas 
40 
are 
closed/ghost 
schools. 
A 
sum 
of 
Rs.49,339,420/- was allocated for education during the financial year. 
On litigation issue, it has been stated that no case is pending before 
any forum.   
 
TANDO MUHAMMAD KHAN 
142.  
As per report of the District & Sessions Judge, Tando 
Muhammad Khan, out of 1191 schools, 1187 schools are fully 
functional and 4 schools are non-functional, whereas there are no 
ghost schools in the district. A sum of Rs.24,652,000/- was allocated 
for education during the financial year, whereas 30% children are 
studying in the schools in the district. Encroachments exist on ten 
CONST.P. 37/2012 
 
72
schools land. On the question pertaining to litigation concerning 
schools lands, it has been stated that no litigation exists in this regard.  
143.  
During inspection of the schools of Taluka Bulri Shah 
Kareem, it was observed that 27 Boys Primary Schools in the remote 
areas were closed temporarily due to political influence, however, the 
same were made functional. The teachers found absent without 
sanctioned leave were ordered to be proceeded under the disciplinary 
rules by the concerned DEOs. The SMC funds are being misused and in 
a vast majority of schools, no proper record is maintained at the 
school level and no such record was found with the Heads of schools. 
DEO informed that such funds are directly transferred to the concerned 
SMC bank accounts of each school are placed at the disposal of 
Chairmen who are private persons of concerned villages and are 
almost politically designated persons. The concerned Head of the 
school being Secretary of SMC has no decisive role as such the role of 
Chairman may be eliminated and/or instead the SMC funds may be 
allocated 
through 
Education 
Department 
at 
district 
level 
for 
utilization/monitoring and audit.  
 
THARPARKER At MITHI 
144.  
As per report of the District & Sessions Judge, Tharparker 
at Mithi, 3307 schools are fully functional, 858 schools are non-
functional 
and 
no 
ghost 
school 
in 
the 
district. 
A 
sum 
of 
Rs.139,327,702/- as salary and Rs.63,180,000/- as non-salary was 
allocated for education during the financial year, whereas ratio of 
children going schools is 70% in the district. However, it has been 
pointed out that the ratio determined by education department is not 
correct and as observed during physical verification, it may be 50%. 
Encroachments existed in 18 schools, however, in addition to these 18 
CONST.P. 37/2012 
 
73
schools, some of the schools were temporarily occupied which were 
got vacated by the Education Department.  One old hostel of GHSS, 
Chachro is in the possession of Rangers and the Deputy Commissioner 
is required to vacate it. The play-ground of GHSS, Islamkot was in 
occupation of some individuals and task is assigned to Deputy 
Commissioner for demarcation and restoration, if any. On the question 
pertaining to litigation concerning schools lands, it has been stated 
that no litigation exists in this regard.  
145.  
It is also mentioned that teachers used to come late, some 
of the teachers/Head masters were absent without sanctioned leave, 
there were excess postings in some of the schools, some of the 
schools buildings were in poor condition, there were deficiencies with 
regard to class-rooms, toilets, libraries, etc.,  
146.  
It has been stated that there is no shortage of male 
teachers in the district but due to mismanagement of Education 
Department, some of the teachers are posted in excess obliging the 
influential, therefore, the remote areas are not fed-up with teachers. 
The conduct of the officers of District Administration has made the 
education system barren. It has been suggested that if the children of 
all the officers of education department be bound down to get their 
education in Government schools it would improve the education 
system. The SMC funds are misused and mostly the concerned Heads 
of the school do not know the aims and objects of the scheme. The 
committees so constituted are also not vigilant, as there is great 
apprehension that the committees are constituted on the basis of 
favouritism in order to put cover upon ill working of the Education 
Department. The school buildings are constructed on the quotas of 
Parliamentarian, therefore in some areas there are too many schools 
CONST.P. 37/2012 
 
74
in other areas there is no school building. The required furniture is also 
not provided to those schools. Thus, the DEOs, etc., seem to be quite 
negligence and instrumental in the hands of the influentials. In the 
female section, the teachers are mostly posted in town, cities and the 
villages, therefore, the rural side/katcha areas are suffering from 
education disaster. In order to create grounds for establishment of 
schools, excessive enrolment is shown, when in fact there was no need 
of construction of additional classes/building. As such, Government 
exchequer has been badly misused and the Education Works 
Department is also not discharging its duties properly. The attendance 
was very poor in the schools and the reason disclosed was that 
elder/nek-merd of the area had died which was flimsy. A complaint 
was also received from a social worker about mismanagement, 
corruption and fake results. It was also disclosed that Reform Support 
Unit is working under the World Bank which provides stipend to every 
female student from class VI to X through money order but no student 
was reportedly receiving the said stipend. 
 
THATHA 
147.  
As per report of the District & Sessions Judge, Thatha, out 
of 3316 schools, 2383 schools are fully functional and 883 schools are 
closed whereas there are 14 ghosts schools in the district. As regards 
the allocation of fund, it has been stated that Rs.350,428,190/- (non-
salary) was allocated in the budget for the financial year 2012-13, 
whereas ratio of children going to schools is 66.4% in the district. 
Encroachments exist in 36 schools out of which 6 have got vacated. 
The main reason for encroachments is the delinquency and ignorance 
on the part of Education Department. On the question pertaining to 
CONST.P. 37/2012 
 
75
litigation concerning schools lands, it has been stated that no litigation 
exists in the district.  
148.  
Reportedly 247 computers, 56 UPS and 47 Printers were 
supplied of the schools of the whole district but on physical verification 
except 6-8 computers at Government Girls High Schools Gharo, no 
computer was found by the judicial officers, however, in the meeting, 
the officials of Education Department took brazen faced statement that 
all computers/equipment are available at the schools. On specific 
query about the availability of the computers at Government Boys 
High School Sonda, the officials admitted that computers at the said 
school had been stolen but no action was made in that context. SMC 
funds were neither properly utilized nor any proper accounts have 
been maintained by the schools and no audit report has been 
furnished by the department. The budget under the heads stationary, 
class material and co-curricular activities does not seem to have been 
properly utilized and/or misappropriated. Some of the schools were 
found closed during physical inspection, but in the account books the 
schools were shown as functional and funds were shown to have been 
allocated. 
 
UMERKOT 
149.  
As per report of the District & Sessions Judge, Umerkot, 
there are 2735 schools in the district, out of which 1980 schools are 
fully functional, 755 are non-functional, however there is no ghost 
school. An amount of Rs.986,346,988/- was allocated for education 
during the financial, whereas ratio of children studying in the schools is 
34.92% in the district. The encroachments exist in 3 school, out of 
which GBPS, Mushtaque Ahmed Qaimkhani and GGPS Niaz Ali Kapri 
have been occupied by the influential persons due to political backing 
CONST.P. 37/2012 
 
76
and without any solid reason, and education authorities have failed to 
initiate action against them apprehending reprisal. Whereas, GGMS, 
Chhor Old has been occupied by the ISI due to non-availability of their 
building. No case is pending in any court of law between Education 
authorities and encroachers because the authorities of education 
Department, due to political influence, are unable to file complaints 
against influential persons or get schools vacated. 
150.  
Mr. Muhammad Kassim Mir Jat, Additional Advocate 
General Sindh, by means of CMA 3799/2013, filed a summary on the 
conditions of schools in the Province of Sindh. According to the said 
summary, 46288 schools are fully functional in the Province and there 
is no ghost school as such, though some of the schools are not fully 
functional. He has described the following reasons for non-functioning 
of schools and encroachments upon the premises of the schools in the 
Province of Sindh: -  
(i) 
Law and order situation and tribal disputes. 
(ii) 
Migration due to floods. 
(iii) 
Schools in katcha areas. 
(iv) 
Shortage of teaching staff. 
(v) 
Lack of facilities, i.e. building, light, furniture, bath/rooms, 
roads, etc. 
(vi) 
Ownership disputes. 
(vii) Social power and political influence. 
(viii) Reluctance of lady teachers to leave their home towns. 
 
151.  
To address and resolve the above issues, the learned law 
officer has made the following suggestions:- 
(i) 
Education budget allocation is to be enhanced. 
(ii) 
Appointments be made strictly on merit. 
(iii) 
Separation of teaching staff and administration. 
(iv) 
Decentralization of powers of appointment, posting, 
transfer and disciplinary action in accordance with service 
rules. 
(v) 
Improve the private sector, in order to raise funds and 
provide facilities. 
(vi) 
Training of staff and physical supervision from Union 
Council level to divisional level by higher authorities. 
(vii) Monthly inspection reports of schools by concerned 
officers. 
CONST.P. 37/2012 
 
77
(viii) The representatives of people MPAs and MNAs are to be 
advised to participate in improvement of educational 
system within their respective constituencies. 
 
 
152.  
We have perused the reports of the DEOs and the District 
& Sessions Judges as well as the summaries prepared by the law 
officers. While the reports are deficient in many respects, yet as much 
of the conditions prevalent in schools all over the country has come on 
record by means of those reports is far from being termed as 
satisfactory. At any rate, the reports bring out following issues, 
challenges and problems confronting the schools throughout the length 
and breadth of the country: -  
(1) 
The staff/teachers are not recruited on merits, rather on 
political and monetary considerations. Untrained and 
uneducated persons were working as teachers. Similarly, 
transfers and postings of teachers as well as the officers of 
the Education Department are made under political 
considerations and  under influence of pressure groups of 
teachers associated with the unions;   
(2) 
Some of the schools were under-staffed whereas others 
were over-staffed;  
(3) 
Due to absence of fresh recruitments, there is shortage of 
teachers. Besides, the school teachers are attached with 
the health department for the purposes of polio campaign, 
particularly female teachers and are also deployed on 
election duty;   
(4) 
There is no record of daily attendance of teachers and no 
yardstick is available to measure the level of efficiency and 
performance of teaching staff. The teachers, in collusion 
with the concerned supervisory staff, either manage to 
mark proxies or engage local substitutions on payment of 
money;   
(5) 
The teachers were found in regular practice of obtaining 
leave for no reason or absenting from duty; and in some 
cases, even head of the school was found absent;   
CONST.P. 37/2012 
 
78
(6) 
The teachers did not give the appearance becoming of a 
teacher to be a role model for the students;   
(7) 
Most of the officials of the Education Department were not 
found visiting the schools. Furthermore, they had no 
control over the teachers/staff due to frequent political 
intervention, 
or 
blackmailing 
through 
anti-corruption 
department;   
(8) 
In some areas, the Head Teacher of the school, without 
any documentary proof and observance of codal formalities 
is paid Rs.7,000/- per annum per room as maintenance 
charges, but there is no solid proof and record either in 
office of the concerned Head Teacher, the DEO concerned 
or the Head at district level to show as to how and under 
what criteria this public fund is being used;   
(9) 
In one case, a sum of Rs.40 million was placed at the 
disposal of Parents Teacher Association (PTA) during the 
previous financial year, but surprisingly even the very PTA 
did not exist in the district nor is there any record of 
expenditure of the allocated public fund. Thus, funds are 
not being utilized properly, which is indicative of lack of 
proper financial management and absence of any checks 
and balances within the department. It was suggested that 
if a proper audit of the accounts of the Education 
Department is conducted, it would reveal huge corruption 
and mismanagement;   
(10) Encroachments exist upon a large number of schools 
buildings/properties, however, no concrete steps are being 
taken 
by 
the 
Education 
Department 
against 
the 
encroachers;   
(11) In some of the schools under encroachment, the premises 
had not been legally handed over to Education Department 
and the buildings of the schools had been constructed on 
funds of the Senators disbursed during the 80’s, as such 
the premises were not on record of Education Department. 
In absence of proper handing over and taking over by the 
Education Department, sanctioned strength of the staff 
could not be ascertained;   
CONST.P. 37/2012 
 
79
(12) Most of the primary schools are sanctioned/built on 
political considerations and owners of the land are using 
the same as their houses/baithaks;    
(13) Some schools were found closed due to floods and 
consequential migration of the people of the locality;  
(14) The building of the Government High School in Dir Town 
was given on lease to Fatima Model School and the said 
school is functional. It calls for an inquiry whether such 
lease of a Government school is permissible;   
(15) Some of the DEOs submitted a report/certificate that no 
ghost, non-functional or encroached school exists in the 
entire district. However, during visits of the judicial 
officers, it was observed that many of the schools were 
either 
ghost/non-functional 
or 
encroached 
schools. 
Besides, a lot of schools were found temporarily closed 
during working hours.  
(16) The building of Government Middle School, Kabalgram 
was found in occupation of Pak-Army;  
(17) The Government Middle School situated at Dobando Dera 
was found occupied by the Security Forces for operational 
purposes against militancy;  
(18) One old hostel of GHSS, Chachro was in the possession of 
Rangers;   
(19) Two schools in Dera Ismail Khan were closed by the land 
owners as mutations in favour of Education Department 
had not been attested, but the school buildings have been 
constructed thereupon. The cases regarding both these 
schools have been forwarded to the Anti-Corruption 
Department, D.I. Khan for probe and necessary legal 
action;   
(20) A large number of schools were found without electricity, 
drinking 
water, 
washrooms 
and 
proper 
furniture. 
Maintenance and repair work of the schools buildings was 
not done since long and most of the school buildings were 
found in dilapidated condition, which showed that funds 
allocated for the said purpose were not being utilized 
properly; and  
CONST.P. 37/2012 
 
80
(21) The number of non-enrolled students was not ascertained 
either due to lack of interest/resources or due to non-
cooperation of the executive agencies of the district.    
 
153.  
The above state of affairs shows that the most important 
aspect of human life, viz., imparting of education to the future 
generations is being ignored like anything. Recently, this Court, in the 
case of Fiaqat Hussain v. Federation of Pakistan (PLD 2012 SC 224), 
has had the occasion to deal with the issue of non-payment of salaries 
to the teaching staff of the community welfare schools. In the course 
of the judgment, the Court, having noticed apathy on the part of the 
Governmental authorities in the matter of payment of salaries to the 
concerned staff, highlighted the importance of imparting of education 
in the light of the Injunctions of Islam as laid down in the Holy Quran 
and Sunnah of the Holy Prophet (SAW) as well as the vision of Quaid-
e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan on the issue, 
with a view to calling upon the concerned stakeholders to come 
forward and pay attention to the issue by according due priority to the 
matter. In that behalf, the Court recapitulated the relevant material in 
the following terms: -  
Allah Almighty in first revelation ordained the Holy Prophet 
(Peace Be Upon Him) as follows: - 
Read in the name of your Lord, Who created, man 
from a clot. Read, for your Lord is most Generous, 
Who teaches by means of the pen, teaches man 
what he does not know. [96:1-5]  
 
Allah Almighty, in the divine Book, also declared the 
superiority of Adam over the angles because of knowledge 
and emphasized as under: -   
And He taught Adam the nature of all things; then 
He placed them before the angels, and said: “Tell 
Me the nature of these, if ye are right”. 
They said: “Glory to Thee: of knowledge we have 
none, save what Thou Hast taught us: in truth it is 
Thou Who art perfect in knowledge and wisdom.” 
[2:31-32]  
CONST.P. 37/2012 
 
81
 
In Surah Taha the Prophet (SAW) has been asked to pray 
in the following words: -  
 
O Lord, increase my knowledge. [20: 114]  
 
In Surah Baqra (Heifer), Allah ordained as under: -   
But the best of provisions is right conduct, so fear 
Me! O ye that are wise. (2:197).  
 
The Holy Prophet (SAW) emphasized upon acquisition of 
knowledge in the following words: -  
 
Seek knowledge from the cradle to grave.  
 
The Holy Prophet (SAW) compared an “Aalim” with a 
martyr in the cause of Islam in the following words: -   
A drop of sweat of the brow of thinker is better 
than the thousand blood drops of the martyr.  
 
On another occasion, it has been said: -  
Whoever seeks a way to acquire knowledge, Allah 
will make easy his way to Paradise. [Sahih Muslim] 
Stressing upon the need of knowledge, the Holy Prophet 
(SAW) also said: -  
Seeking 
knowledge 
is 
obligatory 
upon 
every 
Muslim. [Sunan Ibn Majah] 
 
Dr. Maurice Bucaille in the book titled, “The Bible, The 
Quran and Science” has argued that Islam is a scientific 
religion, which emphasizes upon the need of scientific 
inquiry.  
 
The role and importance of education in the development 
of society/nation did not escape the vision of Quaid-e-
Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan. In 
his Presidential Address delivered on March 23, 1940 at All 
India Muslim League, Lahore, he said: -  
Come forward as servants of Islam, organise the 
people economically, socially, educationally and 
politically, and I am sure that you will be a power 
that will be accepted by everybody.   
 
On another occasion, the Quaid-e-Azam said: -  
You must concentrate on gaining knowledge and 
education. 
It 
is 
your 
foremost 
responsibility. 
Political awareness of the era is also part of your 
education. You must be aware of international 
events and environment. Education is a matter of 
life and death for our country.  
CONST.P. 37/2012 
 
82
 
154.  
This Court in the above referred judgment also observed 
that informal/free education system has been adopted in a number of 
countries like Greece, Britain and Ireland, thus, the system of free 
education is in vogue not only in the developed world, but also in the 
developing countries. In the above backdrop, by Article 25A inserted 
into the Constitution by means of the 18th Constitutional Amendment, 
a new fundamental right has been added in the Chapter on 
Fundamental Rights in the Constitution of Pakistan. This Article 
envisages that the State shall provide free and compulsory education 
to all children of the age of five to sixteen years in such manner as 
may be determined by law. It was also noted in the said judgment that 
the provision of Article 25A had been introduced in the light of the 
teachings of Islam and the vision of the father of the nation. True, the 
mandate of the Constitution contained in the Directives Principles of 
State Policy is not enforceable in the courts of law, as is the case with 
the Fundamental Rights, but that factor does not relieve the executive 
authorities of the State from their obligation under Article 29(1) of the 
Constitution, which saddles each organ and authority of the State and 
each person performing functions on behalf of an organ or authority of 
the State with the responsibility to act in accordance with those 
Principles insofar as they relate to the functions of the organ or 
authority. Article 37(a) of the Constitution requires the State to 
promote with special care, the educational and economic interests of 
backward classes or areas whereas clause (b) of said Article makes it 
incumbent upon the State to remove illiteracy and provide free and 
compulsory secondary education within minimum possible period. 
However, with the introduction of Article 25A, the scenario has been 
changed and now the State of Pakistan is called upon to ensure free 
CONST.P. 37/2012 
 
83
and compulsory education to all children of the age of five to sixteen 
years in such manner as may be determined by law. The direction on 
imparting education contained in the Constitution by way of a Directive 
Principle has now been translated into a Fundamental Right, which is 
enforceable by the superior courts in exercise of the jurisdiction vested 
in them under Article 199 and Article 184(3) of the Constitution.  
155.  
It needs to be reiterated that in the successful life of an 
individual, the education plays an important role. Absence of education 
impedes progress of the society. Education plays an important role to 
promote knowledge and understanding of rural communities. An 
educated person is in a better position to contribute in the 
development of the society. Education is a key to move forward and 
achieve success in life. In the process, the teachers play a most 
important role in educating children and developing their capabilities 
and skills to meet the challenges of their future life. It has also been 
highlighted in the aforesaid judgment that formal education is 
imparted through the medium of educational institutions, e.g. school, 
colleges, etc., set up in the public and the private sectors. On the 
other hand, informal education is a general term for education outside 
the standard school set up. It refers to various forms of alternative 
education, such as non-schooling or house-schooling, etc. In Athenian 
society, some countries had schools having teachers and pedagogues. 
Pedagogues shared some qualities with specialist informal educators. 
They were family attendants (often slaves) whose duties were to 
supervise, and be with young sons of their master. They used to take 
the boys to school and would sit with them in the classroom. The 
teacher would teach children only letters, while the pedagogue would 
teach them how to behave. In Britain, the first adult educators were 
CONST.P. 37/2012 
 
84
the missionaries who came from Ireland or from continental Europe. 
For many centuries, the Church remained the greatest educational 
force in the country [Kelly 1970: 1]. The clergy, the formal religious 
leadership, had a duty to teach which they did through preaching, 
talking with people and through more specialized means such as 
schooling. From the late 1370s, preachers started to spread the gospel 
around Britain. By the middle of the fifteenth century, community 
libraries were established. In the seventeenth century, the academies 
and charity schools were also established. In the nineteenth century, 
there was great increase in informal educators, particularly associated 
with the emergence of philanthropic organizations, such as, YMCA 
founded in 1844. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, non-formal 
education became part of the international discourse on education 
policy. It was related to the concepts of recurrent and lifelong learning. 
Tight (1996: 68) suggested that the latter concepts had to do with the 
extension of education and learning throughout life. Non-formal 
education is about acknowledging the importance of education, 
learning and training, which takes place outside recognized educational 
institutions. Fordham (1993) suggested that in the 1970s, four 
characteristics were associated with non-formal education, namely, 
relevance to the needs of disadvantaged groups; concern with specific 
categories of persons; a focus on clearly defined purposes; and 
flexibility in organization and methods.  
156.  
As is the case with many other countries, formal and 
informal ways of education are prevalent in Pakistan too. In the good 
old days, all attention of a teacher was focussed on how to educate 
children in every possible way. In the process, they would establish a 
personal contact and liaison not only with each and every child of their 
CONST.P. 37/2012 
 
85
class, but also with the parents of every child. If any of the students 
would absent himself from school, they would reach out to his house 
and require the parents to ensure that the child attends the school 
regularly. That type of spirit of commitment and dedication on the part 
of the teachers is urgent need of the hour to advance the cause of 
education.   
157.  
After the advent of the formal education system, 
inspection of schools/colleges was a regular feature of the functioning 
of 
the 
Education 
Department. 
The 
school 
administration, 
in 
anticipation of the inspection/surprise visits, would keep an eye on the 
proper management of the school affairs, including maintenance of the 
school buildings, cleanliness and gardening. This needs to be revived 
because system of checks and balances in some form is essential for 
good governance in any public institution. No doubt, the head of the 
educational institution is primarily responsible for the smooth conduct 
of the school affairs pertaining both to the teaching side as well as the 
management/administration of the institution, but the presence of 
checks and balances, in no way, can furnish a cause of prejudice to 
anyone or be taken as interference in the domain of the school 
administration. These perspectives in mind, it is imperative that all the 
state functionaries at the district level sit together and spend their 
time and energy in finding out ways and means whereby the mandate 
of the Constitution contained in Article 25A can be fulfilled in the best 
interests of the nation.  
158.  
As per the statistical data of the overall educational system 
of the country presented before the Court during the hearing of the 
instant petition, 260,903 Government and private institutions up to the 
level of secondary school education exist in the country, which are 
CONST.P. 37/2012 
 
86
providing education to approximately 41,018,384 students with the 
help of 1,535,461 teachers. The Government institutions are providing 
education facilities to 25.97 million students while private institutions 
are imparting education to 14.85 million students. 53% of the teachers 
are serving in the public institutions while 47% are employed in the 
private sector. They are responsible for imparting education at the 
pre-primary, 
primary, 
middle, 
high, 
higher 
secondary, 
intermediate/degree colleges, universities, technical and vocational 
institutions, teacher training institutions, non-formal basic education 
as well as Deeni Madaris (religious institutions).   
159.  
As per the available data the major part of our education 
system i.e. 59.2 % is shared by the primary schools, 16.11% by 
middle 
schools, 
11.01% 
by 
high 
schools, 
1.72% 
by 
higher 
secondary/inter-colleges, 0.54% by degree colleges, 1.25% by T&V 
institutions, 5.03% by non-formal basic education, 5.02% by teacher 
training institution, 0.07% by Deeni Madaris whereas 139 universities 
have least share in education system to the extent of only 0.05%.  
160.  
There are 48,634 educational institutions located in urban 
areas of the country out of which 62% are in the private sector. These 
institutions are catering to 7,232,574 male and 6,256,502 female 
students. The share of private sector in urban areas in term of 
enrolment is 53%. A total of 185,321 male and 410,797 female 
teachers are providing their services in urban schools, out of which 
62% are working in the private sector. A total of 182,517 institutions 
are functioning in rural areas of the country. A total of 777,938 
teachers are working in educational institutions of rural areas, 
including 47% female teachers whereas 263,226 teachers are 
performing their duties in the private sector, which is 33% of the total 
CONST.P. 37/2012 
 
87
teachers working in rural areas. As per Educational Statistics 2011-
2012 compiled by the National Education Management Education 
System (NEMES) Team, 505 pre-primary schools, 154,145 primary 
schools, 41,945 middle schools, 28,655 high schools, 4,515 higher 
secondary schools/intermediate colleges, 1,384 degree colleges, 139 
universities, 13,213 basic community schools, 3,257 vocational 
training institutions, 189 teacher training institutions, 13,075 Deeni 
Madaris are functioning in the country.  
161.  
In the instant case, this Court has considered conditions of 
the Government educational institutions comprising primary, middle 
and high schools in terms of Article 25A of the Constitution, which 
envisages that State shall provide free and compulsory education to all 
the children of the age of 5 to 16 years. As regards the remaining 
categories of the educational institutions noted hereinabove, they did 
not form the subject matter of the petition.  
162.  
Physical inspection of the Government run educational 
schools conducted under the supervision of the judicial officers being 
the survey which has been carried out for the first time in the history 
of the country has brought to limelight the miserable conditions and 
numerous problems both in urban and the rural areas that the schools 
are afflicted with throughout the length and breadth of the country. 
The 
inspection 
reports 
have 
provided 
authentic 
data 
and 
incontrovertible facts. This exercise has been undertaken from two 
points of view, namely, the Constitution guarantees basic right of life 
to all the citizens/subjects of the Constitution under Article 9 of the 
Constitution, and secondly, Article 25A has envisaged a Fundamental 
Right of compulsory and free education for the children of 5 to 16 
years of age. As far as Article 9 is concerned, the word “life” occurring 
CONST.P. 37/2012 
 
88
in said Article has received interpretation in different contexts in a 
large number of cases decided from time to time and now it is well-
settled that the word ‘life’ cannot be assigned limited meaning and its 
scope has been enlarged enough to encompass almost each and every 
aspect of human life. In the year 1876, Field, J., in the case of Munn v. 
Illinois [(1876) 94 US 113], held as under: -  
“By the term ‘life’, as here used, something more is meant 
than mere animal existence. The inhibition against its 
deprivation extends to all those limbs and faculties by 
which life is enjoyed. The provision equally prohibits the 
mutilation of the body by the amputation of an arm or leg, 
or the putting out of an eye, or the destruction of any 
other organ of the body through which the soul 
communicates with the outer world. The deprivation not 
only of life, but of whatever God has given to everyone 
with life for its growth and enjoyment, is prohibited by the 
provision in question if its efficacy be not frittered away by 
judicial decision.”  
 
The Indian Supreme Court in the case of Kharak Singh v. State of U. P. 
(AIR 1963 SC 1295) = [(1964) 1 SCR 332] relying upon the 
observations of Field, J. passed in Munn’s case (supra) held as under:- 
“By the term ‘life’ as here [Article 21] used something 
more is meant than mere animal existence. The inhibition 
against its deprivation extends to all those limbs and 
faculties by which life is enjoyed.” 
 
In the case of Board of Trustees, Port of Bombay v. Dilip Kumar (AIR 
1983 SC 109) = [(1983) 1 SCR 828], it was held that the expression 
“life” does not merely connote animal existence or a continued 
drudgery through life, the expression life has a much wider meaning. 
The same view was reiterated in the case of Delhi Transport 
Corporation v. DTC Mazdoor Congress (AIR 1991 SC 101). In the case 
CONST.P. 37/2012 
 
89
of Dr. Mehmood Nayyar Azam v. State of Chhattisgarh [(2012) 8 SCC 
1] = (2013 SCMR 66), after relying upon the cases of Francis Coralie 
Mullin v. Administrator, Union Territory of Delhi (AIR 1981 SC 746) = 
[(1981) 1 SCC 608] and D.K. Basu v. State of W.B. (AIR 1997 SC 
610), it was held that the right to life is enshrined in Article 21 of the 
Constitution and, a fortiori, it includes the right to life with human 
dignity and all that goes along with it. In our own jurisdiction, the 
word “life” used in Article 9 of the Constitution, has been interpreted 
by this Court in the case of Shehla Zia v. WAPDA (PLD 1994 SC 693) 
in the following words: - 
“Article 9 of the Constitution provides that no person shall 
be deprived of life or liberty save in accordance with law. 
The word “life” is very significant as it covers all facets of 
human existence. The word “life” has not been defined in 
the Constitution but it does not mean nor can it be 
restricted only to the vegetative or animal life or mere 
existence from conception to death. Life includes all such 
amenities and facilities which a person born in a free 
country is entitled to enjoy with dignity, legally and 
constitutionally. … … Therefore, Article 184 can be invoked 
… ….” 
 
The same view was reiterated in the case of Arshad Mehmood v. 
Government of Punjab (PLD 2005 SC 193), In Re: Human Rights Case 
regarding fast food chain in F-9 Park (PLD 2010 SC 759), Bank of 
Punjab v. Haris Steel Industries (PLD 2010 SC 1109), In Re: SMC 
No.13 of 2009, case regarding Multi-Professional Housing Schemes  
(PLD 2011 SC 619), and Fiaqat Hussain v. The Federation of Pakistan 
(PLD 2012 SC 224). In the case of Watan Party v. Federation of 
Pakistan (PLD 2011 SC 997) it was held that it is the duty of the State 
to protect and safeguard all the Fundamental Rights including the right 
to life and liberty as envisaged by Article 9 of the Constitution. In 
CONST.P. 37/2012 
 
90
Abdul Wahab v. Habib Bank Ltd. (2013 SCMR 1383) it was held that 
the right to life should be given an extended/broader meaning.  
163.  
As regards the other aspect, viz., insertion of Article 25A in 
the Constitution by means of the 18th Constitutional Amendment, it 
may be noted that in Fiaqat Hussain’s case (supra) this Court has 
already made observations about the implications of Article 25A read 
with Article 29(1) and Article 37 of the Constitution which mandate the 
State to promote, with special care, the educational and economic 
interest of backward classes or areas. It was further observed that it is 
the obligation of the State to ensure enforcement of Fundamental 
Rights guaranteed under the Constitution.  
164.  
Although 
the 
issues, 
challenges 
and 
the 
problems 
confronting the schools throughout the length and breath of the 
country as reflected in the reports received from each district of the 
country province-wise have been noted hereinabove, but in view of the 
great importance attached to the instant case, it is deemed 
appropriate to summarize the above information/data in a tabulated 
form as under:-  
 
Name of the 
District 
No of 
schools 
urban/ 
rural 
Non-
functional 
No. of 
students / 
ratio 
No. of 
teachers 
Ghost 
schools 
Reasons 
of 
absence 
students/ 
teachers 
Under 
illegal 
occup
ation 
Annual 
budget 
(Millions) 
Islamabad 
Islamabad  
383 
 
-- 
-- 
No 
-- 
-- 
287.45 
Balochistan 
Dera Allah Yar 
331 
39 
50% 
-- 
No 
-- 
Some 
-- 
Gawadar 
258 
10 
95% 
 
No 
 
No 
262.25 
Islamabad 
383 
 
-- 
-- 
No 
-- 
-- 
287.45 
Kalat 
333 
22 
12.50% 
-- 
No 
-- 
-- 
-- 
Khuzdar 
609 
38 
22.50% 
-- 
No 
-- 
No 
-- 
Kohlu 
427 
-- 
-- 
-- 
-- 
-- 
-- 
-- 
Lasbella 
587 
-- 
39% 
-- 
-- 
-- 
-- 
506.191 
Loralai 
37 
4 
-- 
-- 
-- 
-- 
-- 
-- 
CONST.P. 37/2012 
 
91
 
Mekran 
-- 
-- 
-- 
-- 
-- 
-- 
-- 
-- 
Nasirabad 
408 
6 
42.50% 
 
33 
Non 
posting of 
teachers 
2 
-- 
Noshki 
220 
14 
24828 
-- 
-- 
-- 
-- 
341.373 
Panjgur 
343 
-- 
84.50% 
-- 
-- 
-- 
-- 
447.569 
Pishin 
875 
27 
68000 
-- 
-- 
Non 
posting of 
teachers 
Some 
644.97 
Quetta 
552 
1 
55% 
-- 
-- 
-- 
-- 
1661.736 
Sibi 
263 
8 
-- 
-- 
-- 
Tribal 
disputes, 
Insecurity, 
Non 
maintenan
ce 
-- 
-- 
Usta 
Muhammad 
288 
7 
62.50% 
-- 
7 
Proxy 
teachers 
4 
 
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 
Abbottabad 
-- 
Most of the 
schools 
-- 
-- 
No 
-- 
-- 
-- 
Bannu 
1518 
57 
129662 
-- 
No  
-- 
Some 
32.045 
Battagram 
788 
Some 
-- 
-- 
Some 
Proxy 
teachers 
-- 
-- 
Buner 
791 
14 
-- 
-- 
-- 
Lack of 
devotion, 
Hardships 
in transit 
Some 
1041.141 
Charsadda 
-- 
Some 
-- 
-- 
-- 
-- 
Some 
-- 
Chitral 
793 
Some 
73101 
2853 
-- 
-- 
Some 
1277.726 
Dera Ismail 
Khan 
1605 
11 
-- 
-- 
-- 
Proxy 
teachers 
27 
-- 
Dir Lower 
1571 
6 
394443 
6890 
-- 
-- 
-- 
1829.640 
Dir Upper 
942 
 
190927 
5991 
-- 
-- 
2 
112.606 
Hangu 
397 
62 
40% 
-- 
-- 
-- 
2 
655.354 
Haripur 
313 
3 
-- 
-- 
-- 
-- 
-- 
-- 
Karak 
-- 
Most 
-- 
-- 
-- 
Proxy 
teachers 
-- 
-- 
Kohat 
819 
32 
113221 
-- 
-- 
-- 
Some 
1683.810 
Kohistan 
1169 
878 
Lowest 
-- 
-- 
Non 
availabilit
y of 
teachers 
-- 
898.996 
Lakki Marwat 
-- 
-- 
50% 
-- 
50% 
Private 
business 
-- 
166.797 
Malakand 
43 
-- 
71.43% 
-- 
No 
-- 
-- 
-- 
Mansehra & 
Tor Ghar 
-- 
-- 
-- 
-- 
No 
-- 
-- 
-- 
Mardan 
1737 
-- 
341523 
-- 
-- 
-- 
24 
-- 
Nowshera 
978 
-- 
64.8% 
-- 
-- 
-- 
-- 
1671.147 
Peshawar 
1181 
7 
331094 
-- 
-- 
-- 
13 
-- 
Shangla 
-- 
10 
-- 
-- 
 
 
 
3 
Absentee 
of teachers 
Many 
-- 
 
 
Swabi 
1312 
-- 
140990 
-- 
No 
Absentee 
of 
teachers 
No 
2399.217 
CONST.P. 37/2012 
 
92
 
Swat 
-- 
83 
-- 
 
-- 
No 
Absentee 
of teachers 
Some 
-- 
Tank 
418 
34 
-- 
Beyond 
sanction 
strength 
No 
-- 
3 
-- 
 
 
Punjab 
Attock 
1265 
-- 
95% 
-- 
No 
-- 
28 
3116.043 
Bahawalnagar 
2231 
43 
87% 
-- 
-- 
-- 
2 
4539.721 
Bahawalpur 
2122 
-- 
99.93% 
-- 
2 
-- 
5 
-- 
Bhakkar 
1337 
 
98.64% 
 
3 
-- 
20 
41.892 
Chakwal 
802 
7 
-- 
-- 
6 
-- 
23 
218.387 
Chiniot 
899 
-- 
-- 
-- 
No 
-- 
No 
1272.565 
D.G. Khan 
2044 
-- 
-- 
-- 
2 
-- 
3 
-- 
Faisalabad 
2135 
-- 
96.5% 
-- 
-- 
-- 
Some 
9333.860 
Gujranwala 
1671 
-- 
-- 
-- 
8 
-- 
58 
6829.015 
Gujrat 
909 
-- 
-- 
-- 
9 
-- 
Some 
-- 
Hafizabad 
900 
6 
92% 
34:1 
No 
-- 
9 
1639.888 
Jhang 
1665 
-- 
87% 
-- 
No 
-- 
No 
61.158 
Jhelum 
863 
-- 
85% 
-- 
No 
-- 
5 
2464.928 
Kasur 
1620 
-- 
93% 
-- 
No 
-- 
Some 
3823.920 
Khanewal 
1600 
-- 
96% 
-- 
No 
-- 
Some 
4630.010 
Khushab 
1037 
-- 
96.54% 
-- 
3 
-- 
2 
3776.671 
Lahore 
1205 
-- 
76% 
-- 
6 
-- 
12 
1200.000 
Laayah 
1668 
-- 
95.37% 
-- 
No 
-- 
10 
3512.033 
Lodhran 
797 
-- 
83% 
-- 
No 
-- 
Some 
3.820 
Mandi 
Bahauddin 
987 
-- 
90% 
-- 
No 
-- 
12 
12.010 
Mianwali 
1140 
-- 
93% 
-- 
No 
-- 
Some 
2601.976 
Multan 
1434 
-- 
300,000 
-- 
No 
-- 
Some 
5120.448 
Muzaffargarh 
2089 
-- 
100% 
-- 
24 
-- 
3 
233.522 
Nankana Sahib 
734 
-- 
95.8% 
-- 
No 
-- 
10 
2308.953 
Narowal 
1280 
-- 
97.72% 
-- 
14 
-- 
1 
1384.384 
Okara 
1671 
-- 
-- 
-- 
No 
-- 
Some 
2399.085 
Pakpattan 
910 
-- 
63.07% 
-- 
-- 
-- 
-- 
2132.215 
Rahim Yar 
Khan 
1879 
62 
-- 
-- 
-- 
Non 
availability 
of teachers 
56 
-- 
Rajanpur 
490 
-- 
28% 
-- 
-- 
-- 
-- 
248.318 
Rawalpindi 
1993 
10 
70.5% 
-- 
No 
Migration 
of citizen 
16 
5790.942 
Sahiwal 
1204 
-- 
98% 
-- 
No 
-- 
2 
359.791 
 
Sargodha 
2042 
-- 
43% 
-- 
-- 
-- 
87 
5573.137 
Sheikhupura 
1597 
41 
85% 
-- 
No 
-- 
11 
3412.515 
CONST.P. 37/2012 
 
93
 
 
 
Sialkot 
1992 
-- 
20% 
-- 
6 
90% 
without 
furniture 
Most 
5650.173 
Toba Tek 
Singh 
1199 
-- 
99.64% 
-- 
No 
-- 
29 
3698.229 
Vehari 
1562 
-- 
-- 
-- 
-- 
-- 
8 
2321.821 
Sindh 
Badin 
2897 
-- 
57.6% 
-- 
294 
-- 
Some 
41.732 
Benazirabad 
2720 
202 
53% 
-- 
355 
-- 
112 
119.800 
Dadu 
1924 
-- 
46% 
-- 
271 
-- 
Some 
407.862 
Ghotki 
1833 
189 
70% 
-- 
48 
-- 
24 
1213.170 
Hyderabad 
1080 
-- 
-- 
-- 
No 
-- 
-- 
-- 
Jacobabad 
952 
328 
78.63% 
-- 
191 
-- 
52 
-- 
Jamshoro 
918 
145 
43.5% 
-- 
71 
-- 
4 
137.076 
Kamber-
Shahdadkot 
1374 
-- 
62.85% 
-- 
269 
-- 
35 
28.943 
Karachi 
Central 
706 
-- 
47.73% 
-- 
No 
-- 
2 
(Partia
l) 
4480.885 
Karachi East 
739 
20 
33.13% 
-- 
12 
-- 
20 
2170.110 
Karachi Malir 
612 
-- 
20% 
-- 
3 
-- 
-- 
1204.360 
Karachi South 
427 
-- 
40.6% 
Beyond 
sanctioned 
strength 
49 
Absentee 
of 
teachers 
-- 
-- 
Karachi West 
464 
36 
31.15% 
-- 
6 
-- 
Some 
1459.569 
Kashmore 
1579 
285 
67% 
-- 
No 
-- 
23 
30.152 
Khairpur 
Mir’s 
3490 
125 
35% 
-- 
-- 
No 
buildings 
11 
2681.272 
Larkana 
1356 
15 
51.67% 
-- 
No 
-- 
28 
24.135 
Mastiari 
990 
137 
35% 
-- 
-- 
Non 
availabilit
y of 
teachers 
6 
254.482 
Mirpurkhas 
1774 
-- 
12.05% 
-- 
24 
-- 
3 
2251.770 
Nausharo 
Feroze 
2473 
195 
-- 
-- 
No 
-- 
-- 
3231.843 
Sanghar 
3188 
-- 
71.83% 
-- 
315 
-- 
17 
2881.267 
Sukkur 
1335 
108 
28.068% 
-- 
No 
Non-appointment 
of the 
landowner’s 
persons 
21 
1616.781 
Tando 
Allahyar 
843 
-- 
-- 
-- 
40 
-- 
-- 
49.339 
Tandoo 
Muhammad 
Khan 
1191 
4 
30% 
-- 
No 
-- 
10 
24.652 
Tharparker 
3307 
858 
50% 
Beyond 
sanctioned 
strength 
No 
Regular 
absentees 
18 
202.508 
Thatha 
3316 
883 
66.4% 
-- 
14 
-- 
30 
350.428 
(non-
salary) 
 
Umerkot 
2735 
755 
34.92 
-- 
No 
-- 
3 
986.347 
CONST.P. 37/2012 
 
94
165.  
The above data adequately reflects the pathetic conditions 
prevalent 
in 
the 
Government 
owned 
educational 
institutions 
comprising primary, middle, high and higher secondary schools. The 
pictorial view of some of the schools situated in the urban areas of the 
Province of Sindh, as reflected in the above reports, shows that 
instead of using the school premises for imparting education to the 
children, influential persons have forcibly occupied the same and a 
number of them are being used as cattle sheds, which is very 
unfortunate.   
 
166.  
A perusal of the material brought on record extracts 
thereof have been used for indentifying the miserable conditions 
prevalent in the educational system of the country shows that 
education is not being accorded priority it deserves.  It is non-
compliance with the Islamic injunctions highlighted hereinabove and 
non-enforcement 
of 
the 
Constitutional 
provisions 
referred 
to 
hereinabove, particularly Article 25A of the Constitution. Undoubtedly 
a number of Commissions were appointed by the Government from 
time to time to suggest reforms in the educational system of the 
country, but it seems that no serious effort has been made to 
implement the recommendations of those Commissions and achieve 
the object. A Commission on Students’ Problems and Welfare was set 
up under a notification of the Ministry of Education, Government of 
Pakistan as far back as on 15.12.1964. The Commission originally 
comprised Mr. Justice Hamoour Rahman, Judge, Supreme Court of 
Pakistan (Chairman), Mr. Justice S.A. Mahmood, Judge, High Court of 
West Pakistan (Member), Kazi Anwar-ul-Haque, Chairman Central 
Public Service Commission (Member) and Mr. Nasir Ahmad, Chairman 
CONST.P. 37/2012 
 
95
West Pakistan Public Service Commission (Member). The terms of 
reference of the Commission as set out in the notification were as 
follows: -  
(1) 
To examine the provisions of the University Ordinances 
and suggest modifications wherever necessary; 
(2) 
To take stock of existing facilities for a sound programme 
of 
studies 
and 
to 
suggest 
remedial 
measures 
commensurate with available resources; 
(3) 
To determine the adequacy or otherwise of the recreational 
and welfare facilities of students and suggest ways and 
means of providing them within available resources;  
(4) 
To examine any other matter affecting student life. 
 
167.  
The Commission on National Education, constituted earlier 
in the year 1959, in its report dated 06.04.1959 emphasized that 
compulsory education at the elementary stage is indispensable for 
skilled manpower and intelligent citizens, for this at least eight years 
schooling is required. It was recommended that education should be 
made compulsory upto primary level by the year 1969 and upto 
middle level by the year 1974.  
168.  
It seems that the educational system has been facing two 
problems, namely, the existence of ghost schools and absenteeism of 
the teachers. The study conducted by Basic Education Community 
Schools (BECS) Project in the year 2012-2013 by a Third Party 
Validation Team hired by the Government revealed that ghost schools 
existed in all Provinces of Pakistan and their number was identified to 
be 1205 where teachers were getting salary but not imparting 
education at all. Statedly, this project is being run with a budget of 
Rs.7 billion. It was further pointed out that 57 ghost schools exist in 
Islamabad, 345 in KPK, 305 in FATA, 276 in Punjab, 69 in Balochistan, 
64 in Sindh, 48 in Azad Kashmir and 41 in Gilgit Baltistan. If the 
CONST.P. 37/2012 
 
96
contents of this report are correct, though a heavy budget is being 
spent, but the respective Governments are not getting any benefit 
from the project.  
169.  
Second main reason pointed out by the Transparency 
International in its Global Corporation Report on Education released in 
January, 2013 is the teachers’ absenteeism, which is one of the most 
serious forms of corruption in the education sector. This Report has 
disclosed the percentage of teachers’ absenteeism in different 
countries, namely, Kenya, Uganda, India, Ghana, Senegal, Indonesia, 
Zambia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, etc. A common problem in most of 
these countries is that the teachers show up in the class room, stay for 
a while and then leave the institution for one or the other reason. The 
report also states that “as learning level improves as a result of 
dedicating teaching, more students are likely to continue with their 
schooling. The impact of teacher absenteeism is much stronger on girls 
than on boys because the demands for girls’ education are more 
responsive to whether any learning actually takes place (King, 
Orazem, and Paterno 1999).” 
170.  
The Pakistan Rural Household Facilities Survey (2001) 
found that there were no classes being held in 34 out of 200 schools it 
surveyed. The school teachers remained absent at times authorisedly 
as well as on the pretext of performing other duties assigned to them, 
like participating in any campaign launched by the Government in 
other fields, e.g., invigilation during examination upto the level of 
universities, polio vaccination to the children, census preparation of 
electoral rolls, attending election duties, etc.   
171.  
As far as unauthorised absenteeism is concerned, there 
could be number of reasons like non-availability of transport, lack of 
CONST.P. 37/2012 
 
97
residential accommodation, absence of infrastructure like classrooms, 
etc., and that at times teachers impart education to the students in 
the open sky as has been noticed in the instant case where, upon a 
letter, reference of which in the background of the case has been 
given, the proceedings were initiated. Other causes for ever 
deteriorating 
educational 
standards 
include, 
inter 
alia, 
appointments/transfers on considerations other than merit, lack of 
public recognition of teachers in contrast to other professionals, e.g., 
doctors, engineers, lack of motivation, especially at primary school 
level, etc., which is evident from the material presented before the 
Court in the instant proceedings.  
172.  
It may not be out of context to note that previously the 
subject of education was included in the Concurrent Legislative List 
whereas after the 18th Constitutional Amendment, it has been 
transferred to the Provinces whereas in the case of ICT, Parliament 
has to promulgate laws after obtaining a resolution from any of the 
Provinces under Article 144 of the Constitution because in absence of 
legislation in respect of education in ICT, legally and constitutionally it 
would not be possible to provide legal cover to the institutions being 
run in ICT. However, it is quite convenient to do so.  
173.  
It may be pointed out that in the case of G.A. Miana etc. v. 
Federation of Pakistan (Constitution Petitions No. 33 & 34 of 2011), 
challenge was thrown to the ‘Devolution of Activities’ in pursuance of 
abolition of Concurrent Legislative List under the 18th Constitutional 
Amendment and transfer of the subject of education to the Provinces. 
It was stated in the petition that HEC is an autonomous organization 
by 
virtue 
of 
Higher 
Education 
Commission 
Ordinance, 
2002, 
established to improve and promote higher education, research and 
CONST.P. 37/2012 
 
98
development. It was further stated that HEC is not attached to the 
Ministry of Education rather it functions under the control of the Prime 
Minister.  In that case, this Court considered the status of HEC in the 
light of HEC Ordinance, 2002 read with entries at Serial No. 16 & 17 of 
Part-I and Serial No. 7, 11 & 12 of Part-II of the Federal Legislative 
List and in response to notice, the learned Attorney General for 
Pakistan appeared before the Court and made a statement to the 
effect that status of HEC shall remain intact unless the same is 
changed by promulgation of some legislation in this behalf. It was 
further stated that HEC shall continue discharging its functions and 
duties as it had been doing in the past and that the notification dated 
31.03.2001 shall have no effect on the functioning of HEC and in case 
of any conflict/inconsistency between the notification and the 
provisions of the Ordinance, the Ordinance shall prevail. Ultimately, 
the appointment of Acting Executive Director of HEC was declared to 
be contrary to HEC Ordinance and notification of said appointment was 
declared illegal and void.   
174.  
Now after devolution of the subject of education to the 
Provinces, it is obligatory on the Provincial Governments to ensure that 
the children of respective areas receive education as a Fundamental 
Right at all tiers of the education system; and it will only be possible if 
all the Provincial Governments as well as the Federal Government to 
assign top most priority to the subject of education because by 
imparting good education to our children we can make progress and 
ensure prosperity of the country; but unfortunately, as so far it has 
been noticed during hearing and after getting conducted survey 
through judicial officers, there is no occasion to express satisfaction on 
the education system in all the Provinces as well as ICT. One can 
CONST.P. 37/2012 
 
99
understand that at certain levels, measures have been or are being 
taken to improve educational system by ensuring regular functioning 
of the schools. However, in our view, to achieve the goal of 
compulsory and free education for the children of the age of 5 to 16 
years in view of Article 25A of the Constitution, following measures are 
required to be taken: -  
(a) 
Accreditation Boards in all Provinces and ICT be 
established under law with an authority, inter alia, to 
improve 
current 
miserable 
conditions 
of 
the 
institutions and also to ensure removal of ghost 
schools immediately with penal action against 
responsible persons who had been receiving salaries 
and other perks without performing their duties;   
(b) 
The Accreditation Boards shall be responsible to 
continue to strive for achieving the objects and 
purposes for which they have been established. The 
recommendations of the Board shall be liable to be 
implemented forthwith by the competent authority 
so that the improvement in the conditions of the 
schools is made visible;  
(c) 
The Accreditation Boards may also consider to 
approach the respective Governments with the plea 
that the teachers be allowed to perform their task of 
imparting education, which is their basic assignment 
and respective institutions may make alternate 
arrangement of manpower from other departments 
to achieve the objects for which the teachers are 
always engaged and involved because on account of 
their authorised absenteeism the task of teaching 
the students has been suffering badly, which is an 
issue of national importance adversely affecting the 
future prosperity of Pakistan;  
(d) 
The Provincial Governments shall be bound to 
enforce Fundamental Rights enshrined in Articles 9 
and 25A of the Constitution as in some of the 
Provinces legislation has already been made to 
CONST.P. 37/2012 
 
100 
enforce Article 25A, therefore, same may be acted 
upon strictly;  
(e) 
The Provincial Governments and ICT must enhance 
budgetary 
allocations 
for 
improvement 
of 
the 
education system and also provide mechanism to 
ensure presence of students at the primary, middle 
and high schools levels;  
(f) 
The Provincial Governments through the concerned 
authorities must ensure recovery of the possession 
of the schools buildings, which have been illegally 
occupied by influential persons and if there is any 
litigation pending, the Registrars of the respective 
High Courts shall ensure the decision of the cases 
expeditiously; and  
(g) 
Similarly, cases pending before the High Courts and 
Supreme Court concerning the schools properties 
shall also be disposed of expeditiously.  
 
175.  
The petition is disposed of in the above terms. However, 
before parting with the judgment, we would like to place on record our 
deep appreciation of the role performed by the District & Sessions 
Judges and other judicial officers, who considering the task assigned to 
them as a national duty, fulfilled the same with full commitment, 
dedication and devotion, as a consequence whereof one may hope for 
improvement of educational system in the country.  
 
CHIEF JUSTICE 
 
JUDGE 
 
JUDGE 
ANNOUNCED IN OPEN COURT ON 22.11.2013   
AT ISLAMABAD  
 
CHIEF JUSTICE 
APPROVED FOR REPORTING