KARACHI: Despite over 17 years of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) rule in Sindh, the province, home to over 50 million people, continues to struggle with basic civic services, especially education. Both rural and urban areas suffer from neglect, but urban Sindh, particularly Karachi, appears to be disproportionately affected.
Urban Sindh, though home to a larger population, has drastically fewer government schools compared to rural regions. For every 100,000 people in rural Sindh, there are 145 government schools. In contrast, urban Sindh has only 13 schools for the same number of people, with Karachi faring even worse—only two government schools per 100,000 people.
Rural Sindh has a population of about 25.64 million, making up 46% of the province’s total population, while urban Sindh, with a population of approximately 30.57 million, accounts for 54%. Yet, the number of out-of-school children in rural Sindh stands at 5.12 million (65%), while urban Sindh has 2.7 million children (35%) not attending school.
The Sindh Education and Literacy Department reports that out of 40,978 government schools in the province, 37,159 are in rural Sindh, despite its smaller population. This stark disparity highlights how urban Sindh is significantly underserved, with only 3,819 government schools.
