Public schools in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have been told to cut back on books as the government deals with budget deficits, severely limiting learning opportunities for students who have already had their schooling disrupted by decades of militancy. Schools are expected to return 30 per cent of their free textbooks amid an enrolment drive that now seems bound to fail. Education is the cornerstone of any productive society, engendering a sense of social responsibility and allowing people to actualize goals that are otherwise out of reach. But for the children in KP, schooling has never been a guarantee. Terrorism and insecurity in the region have exacerbated challenges in the region for decades. The pandemic certainly didn’t make things any easier, disrupting education at every level. As a result of global school closures, children were placed at an even higher risk of dropping out, especially those whose only option is to attend public school. Children are only just beginning to go back to school, so it is highly irresponsible for the government to compromise them at this stage. In fact, it’s hard enough getting children to the classroom without the additional burden created by limited school supplies. Conservative cultural norms make schooling particularly difficult. Girls, in particular, have it even harder, facing far more challenges in accessing education which invariably affects their outcomes later in life. Currently, Pakistan has the world’s second-highest number of out-of-school children, outmatched only by our neighbour Afghanistan where half the population has been virtually banned from going to school. Gaps in service provision are the biggest constraint to access. KP has seen significant improvements in overall school participation over the last decade, but it cannot afford to back out now. A non-conducive environment for learning at schools, such as one created by a shortage of textbooks, reduces both students’ and parents’ motivational levels, ultimately resulting in low school enrolment and high drop-out rates. Needless to say, books are the bare essentials, arguably even more crucial than infrastructure. So if the government can’t pledge much else, it must at least ensure there are enough books to go around. *