Zulfiqar Ahmad
ISLAMABAD, June 4, 2026: Aga Khan Education Service Pakistan (AKESP) has urged the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government to reverse its decision to close schools for two days a week in Upper and Lower Chitral, warning that the policy was severely curtailing already limited classroom time in the region.
In a letter to provincial authorities, Brig (retd) Khush Muhammad Khan, General Manager AKESP for Gilgit-Baltistan and Chitral, said that while the government’s commitment to fiscal discipline and resource management was recognised, the measure was already harming students’ learning.
“Parents across Chitral have expressed serious concern over the loss of valuable classroom time,” he wrote, adding that each missed day represented a lost opportunity for learning, engagement and academic growth. The impact is particularly pronounced in remote areas, where weak internet connectivity and inadequate digital infrastructure make online education unviable.
Brig (retd) Khan questioned the policy’s rationale of fuel savings, noting that an estimated 90% of students and teachers walk to school, relying minimally on transport. Any savings from additional closures, he added, were likely negligible compared with the educational cost.
He also highlighted that Chitral, a designated winter zone, already faces extended academic disruptions from over two months of winter vacation, in addition to summer breaks and frequent weather-related closures.
“The cumulative effect is a significantly reduced number of instructional days compared to other parts of the province,” he said.
The letter cited further challenges, including floods, landslides, heavy rainfall, road blockages and extreme weather, which regularly disrupt schooling and put pressure on institutions to complete curricula and prepare students for examinations.
AKESP argued that schools in summer-zone districts had already begun summer vacations, meaning that exempting Chitral from closures would have minimal financial implications while supporting educational continuity and student outcomes.
Brig (retd) Khan stressed that May and June were the most conducive months for teaching in Chitral, while conditions after October make effective education increasingly difficult.
He warned that lost learning time during this critical period had a disproportionate negative effect on academic progress and was difficult to recover.
Given the region’s unique geographical, climatic and educational circumstances, he urged the government to allow schools in Chitral to maintain a normal schedule during June, describing potential educational gains as “immense” and fiscal savings as marginal.
Brig (retd) Khan called on the provincial authorities to make a “compassionate and pragmatic” decision in the broader interest of students.