Are educational institutions no longer safe in Sindh?

During the blessed days of Eid-ul-Adha, when the entire nation was engaged in worship, sacrifice, compassion, and community spirit, a deeply disturbing and heartbreaking incident unfolded in Bhains Colony Road No. 5, within the jurisdiction of Police Station Sukhan, District Malir, Karachi. A government school — a place meant to nurture dreams, knowledge, and the future of children — was brutally stripped, looted, and abandoned in a manner that raises serious questions about governance, law enforcement, and the writ of the state in Sindh.

“The Funeral of Education in Bhains Colony” is not merely a title; it is a painful reflection of reality. The horrifying condition of this government school symbolizes the collapse of institutional responsibility and the failure to protect one of the most sacred pillars of society — education itself.

This was not merely a case of theft. It was a horrifying reflection of institutional negligence, administrative failure, and the alarming collapse of public protection mechanisms. The very institution where young minds are educated and futures are shaped has now become a symbol of helplessness, insecurity, and state indifference.

According to reports, during the Eid holidays, organized and influential elements systematically looted the school building almost completely. Doors, windows, student desks, chairs, fans, sanitation equipment, and even the main gate were uprooted and taken away. Shockingly, all of this continued without timely intervention from the police, the education department, or any responsible authority.

The videos circulating from the site reveal a devastating picture. This was not only the looting of a school building — it was the looting of education itself, the looting of law, and the looting of the state’s responsibility toward its citizens. If a government school can be left so vulnerable and unprotected, then what security remains for ordinary citizens and the future of their children?

Ironically, this is the same Sindh government that repeatedly claims to prioritize educational reforms, school improvement, and multi-billion-rupee investments in the education sector. Yet the ground realities expose a painful contradiction between official claims and public reality. If an entire government school can be dismantled and looted while state institutions remain silent spectators, then the credibility of governance, reforms, and state authority stands severely damaged.

Perhaps the most tragic and shameful aspect of this incident is that when educational institutions become unsafe, it is not only buildings that are destroyed — it is the collective conscience of society, the dreams of children, the hopes of parents, and the foundations of the nation’s future that are attacked. This incident reflects a dangerous social decline where the state appears unable even to protect its most sacred public institutions.

The issue was highlighted by Mr. Shakir Umar Gujjar, President of the Dairy and Cattle Farmers Association Pakistan (DCFA Pakistan), through a video message in which he appealed to the Chief Minister Sindh, the Inspector General of Police Sindh, and the Provincial Education Minister to take immediate notice of the matter. He warned that if educational institutions are no longer secure, the crisis will not remain limited to one school but will threaten the future of the entire society.

For Shakir Umar Gujjar, this tragedy is also deeply personal. His early education began in this very government school. It was here that he spent his childhood, learned his first lessons, and dreamed about his future. Witnessing the destruction of the same institution today has caused him immense emotional pain. According to him, this is not merely the destruction of a building but an assault on the hopes, dreams, and future of an entire generation.

This incident is personally painful for me as well. I have deep roots in Landhi Cattle Colony, Karachi, and I spent more than two years in this area. In 2019, with the support of Sardar Rafiq Khan Bukhari, practical efforts were made to rehabilitate this very school by improving electricity supply, installing fans, and providing other basic facilities so that children of the area could study in a better educational environment. Seeing the same institution in such a devastated condition today is heartbreaking. It feels as though not only a school but the dreams associated with the bright future of countless children have been destroyed.

Bhains Colony residents, social leaders, parents, teachers, and the youth must now rise collectively against this injustice and educational destruction. Because this is not merely the looting of one school — it is the looting of future generations, the right to education, and the social development of an entire community. Silence at this moment would amount to surrender before lawlessness and the destruction of knowledge itself.

The Government of Sindh, the Education Department, and law enforcement agencies must immediately conduct a high-level, transparent, and impartial investigation into this incident. All responsible elements must be brought before the law, the stolen material must be recovered, and the school must be restored without delay. Furthermore, action must also be taken against negligent officials whose silence and failure allowed this disgraceful incident to occur.

Today, the question is not only about one looted school. The real question is about the future of Sindh, the dreams of children, and the credibility of the state itself. An attack on education is, in reality, an attack on the future of the nation. And if society remains silent over such crimes, history will never forgive this collective negligence.

Dr. Alamdar Hussain Malik
Former Secretary Registrar, Pakistan Veterinary Medical Council
Former Financial Advisor, Finance Division, Government of Pakistan
Former Vice Chairman, Technical Committee, Dairy and Cattle
Farmers Association Pakistan
Former Coordinator, Asian Development Bank (ADB)