Pakistan’s Bannu schools face Rs 4.5 billion infrastructure paucity
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Government schools across Bannu district in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa require an estimated Rs 4.509 billion to overcome serious infrastructure deficiencies, including damaged classrooms, inadequate sanitation facilities and missing boundary walls, as reported by Dawn.
According to Dawn, the district education office’s assessment found that 711 classrooms across 672 government schools need repairs, while 209 schools require washrooms. Boundary walls at 33 institutions have also been identified as damaged or absent, highlighting persistent gaps in basic educational infrastructure.
Primary schools account for the largest share of the funding requirement, with 585 institutions needing approximately Rs3.72 billion for essential improvements. The assessment identified 630 classrooms requiring repairs, alongside 188 washrooms and 22 boundary walls that need construction or rehabilitation.
These requirements represent around 82.5 per cent of the district’s total estimated expenditure. Middle schools face an estimated expenditure of Rs 342.95 million to repair 12 classrooms and address deficiencies involving seven washrooms and five boundary walls across 35 institutions.
Meanwhile, 39 high schools require repairs to 59 classrooms, 11 washrooms and five boundary walls, with the estimated cost reaching Rs 394.52 million. Thirteen higher secondary schools also require infrastructure improvements costing approximately Rs51.56 million, including repairs to 10 classrooms, three washrooms and one boundary wall.
The geographical distribution of the deficiencies reveals an uneven burden across the district. Bannu tehsil, which has 417 government schools, requires repairs to 227 classrooms and the provision of 158 washrooms. All 33 boundary-wall requirements recorded in the district are concentrated in this tehsil, as highlighted by Dawn.
Wazir subdivision has 108 schools with 250 classrooms requiring repairs, alongside a need for 32 washrooms. Miryan tehsil needs repairs to 99 classrooms and 11 additional washrooms across 56 schools, while Domel requires repairs to 49 classrooms and four washrooms. In Kaki tehsil, 60 classrooms across 30 schools need repairs, while Bakakhel has 16 schools requiring repairs to 26 classrooms and four new washrooms, as reported by Dawn.
