Cataclysmic floods destroy 40% schools in Sindh

• More than 2,500 schools turned into relief camps.
• Enrollment expected to fall by 50%.
• Over 5,000 schools completely destroyed.

KARACHI: The devastating floods have caused unprecedented damage to the country and Sindh has faced severe losses in terms of infrastructure and lives, with the province's schools being no exception.

Record monsoon rains and glacier melt in northern mountains have triggered floods that have swept away houses, roads, railway tracks, bridges, livestock and crops, and killed more than 1,400 people, with the government putting the cost of flood-related damage at $30 billion.

Huge areas of the country are inundated and hundreds of thousands have been forced from their homes. The government says the lives of nearly 33 million people have been disrupted. The government has blamed the flooding on climate change.

Statistics from the province's education department show that as many as 40% of the schools have been destroyed, translating into more than 17,600 educational institutions.

The education department's figures showed that 5,619 schools have been completely destroyed, while as many as 12,000 schools were partially damaged due to the ravaging floods.

Apart from the destruction, 2,500 schools have been turned into relief camps across the province, where more than 65,000 families have been relocated to provide them shelter.

The education department said that as a result of the setback, it is feared that the enrollment in government schools will drop by a whopping 50%, meaning that thousands of children will not be able to get their basic education.

In light of the situation, the Minister of Sindh for Education, Culture, Tourism, and Antiquities and Archives, Sardar Shah ordered to establish "camp schools" to bridge the gap till the rehabilitation process is underway.

The minister has also said that the government is expediting the process and quickly setting up such schools in flood-hit areas.

Figures from the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) show that since June 14, when the monsoon period began, the death toll in Sindh has reached 578.

More than 1.5 million houses have been destroyed and thousands of livestock have been lost in the floods, according to the latest figures from the disaster authority.

The World Health Organisation has said more than 6.4 million people need humanitarian support in flooded areas.

— Additional input from Reuters