The Punjab government is reviewing government middle and high schools with critically low enrollment to improve the use of teachers and public resources.
The School Education Department has instructed district authorities to identify schools where fewer than 20 students are enrolled in a class. Following the review, teachers may be transferred from low-enrollment schools to institutions with higher student numbers. Authorities may also merge or reorganize schools where required.
The review comes after Punjab recorded weak Class 9 examination results. Of 1,395,475 students who appeared in examinations conducted by the province’s nine education boards, 641,662 passed while 753,813 failed, resulting in an overall pass rate of 45.98%.
Education experts have attributed the poor performance to teacher shortages, inadequate school facilities, weak foundational learning, irregular attendance and limited academic support. Punjab Teachers Union Secretary General Rana Liaqat Ali has also called on the government to focus on improving public schools rather than pursuing privatization.
The province is simultaneously facing a significant out-of-school children crisis, with estimates suggesting that around six to seven million children remain outside the education system. Poverty, child labor, early marriages, long travel distances, inadequate facilities and financial constraints are among the major factors contributing to the problem.
Experts have urged the Punjab government to combine any school restructuring with stronger teacher recruitment, improved infrastructure, better curriculum implementation and reforms in assessment methods. They also emphasized the need for policies aimed at bringing out-of-school children into classrooms.
