By Khalid Khattak
Not less than 52 percent public sector high and higher secondary schools for girls in Pakistan’s Punjab province are without playgrounds. For boys. however, the playground facility is available in 79 percent schools.
Overall the playground facility is available in 65 percent of the schools which means in total 35 percent schools both for boys and girls are without playgrounds in the province.
Out of total 6,795 high and higher secondary schools 3,682 are for boys while rest of the 3,113 are girls’ schools.
According to the district wise break-up 60 percent public high and higher secondary schools of Attock have playground, Bahawalnagar (63%), Bahawalpur (77%), Bhakkar (75%), Chakwal (65%), Chiniot (82%), Dera Ghazi Khan (62%), Faisalabad (64%), Gujranwala (57%), Gujrat (52%), Hafizabad (89%), Jhelum (64%), Jhang (73%), Kasur (77%), Khanewal (82%), Khushab (63%), Lahore (49%), Layyah (62%), Lodhran (64%), Mandi Bahauddin (69%), Mianwali (77%), Multan (69%), Muzaffargarh (76%), Nankana Sahib (53%), Narowal (54%), Okara (65%), Pakpattan (67%), Rahim Yar Khan (72%), Rajanpur (65%), Rawalpindi (55%), Sahiwal (75%), Sargodha (69%), Sheikhupura (46%), Sialkot (53%), Toba Tek Singh (72%) and Vehari (75%).
No official data is available about playgrounds facility in private schools. However keeping in view mushroom growth of private schools over the years and their existence in small premises and rented buildings it’s not difficult to assume that the situation vis-à-vis playground facilities in private schools is far poor than the public schools.
For further details read this story published in The News.
