Four years have passed since the devastating floods of 2022 left deep and painful marks on Pakistan, with Sindh among the worst-affected provinces. The disaster damaged homes, roads, crops, health facilities, public infrastructure and thousands of schools on an alarming scale.
According to official figures, around 19,808 schools across Sindh were damaged during the 2022 floods. Thousands of these schools were either completely destroyed or partially damaged. In different reconstruction and rehabilitation packages, more than 5,000 schools have been taken up for repair, reconstruction and rehabilitation. Education sector updates indicate that around 5,243 schools are being rebuilt or rehabilitated under the Build Back Better approach, with nearly 1.3 million students expected to benefit.
The 2022 floods exposed the vulnerability of school infrastructure in Sindh. In many districts, school buildings were not strong enough to face extreme rainfall, standing water and flood pressure. Some schools lost roofs, some lost classrooms, some suffered cracks in walls, while many had damaged washrooms, furniture, drinking water facilities and boundary walls. The damage was especially painful because many of these schools were serving children from rural, low-income and climate-vulnerable communities. When such schools are damaged, the impact is not limited to infrastructure. It directly affects attendance, enrolment, girls’ education, student retention and the confidence of parents in the public education system. The Government of Sindh responded to this challenge by placing school rehabilitation within a broader recovery and development framework. The focus was not only on repairing old structures but also on rebuilding better, safer and more climate-resilient facilities.
Education sector updates indicate that around 5,243 schools are being rebuilt or rehabilitated under the Build Back Better approach, with nearly 1.3 million students expected to benefit.
The concept of Build Back Better is important because Sindh cannot afford to reconstruct weak buildings that may again become unsafe in the next climate emergency. Rehabilitation work, therefore, includes safer classrooms, improved school buildings, repaired roofs, stronger compound walls, better washrooms, drinking water facilities, ventilation, furniture support and solar energy where possible.
A major feature of this recovery effort is its scale. More than 5,000 flood-affected schools have been brought into reconstruction and rehabilitation plans. These include both fully damaged and partially damaged institutions. Around 2,268 schools were reported as completely damaged, while more than 3,000 schools were partially damaged in different rehabilitation streams. These numbers show that the education sector suffered a massive blow. At the same time, the decision to take up thousands of schools for rehabilitation shows that the provincial government has recognised the seriousness of the crisis and has moved the work from assessment to implementation.
The role of Sindh Education Minister Syed Sardar Ali Shah deserves fair appreciation in this regard. In a difficult post-flood environment, the School Education and Literacy Department had to identify damaged schools, assess needs, coordinate with development partners, support field teams, manage budgetary priorities and push rehabilitation work forward. The minister has repeatedly emphasised that school restoration is not only a construction issue. It is directly connected with bringing children back to classrooms and protecting the continuity of education. This approach reflects an understanding that education recovery is also social recovery. One important example comes from the Badin district, where around 1,006 school buildings were damaged during the 2022 floods. The damage included collapsed roofs, cracks in walls and unsafe classrooms. Many students had to study in temporary huts or under the open sky. Under the current rehabilitation effort, 167 flood-affected schools in Badin are under rehabilitation and are expected to be completed. In addition, Rs. 92 crore were released under the School Specific Budget to support ongoing repair and rehabilitation works in the remaining schools.
The School Specific Budget has an important role in this recovery. SSB gives school-level financial support for urgent needs such as repair and maintenance, furniture, stationery, washroom improvement and basic facilities. In flood-affected districts, this kind of decentralised financial support can help schools respond to immediate problems without waiting for every small repair to be approved at higher levels. However, transparency and documentation are essential. Every rupee spent on school rehabilitation must be recorded with bills, photographs, quotations and before-and-after evidence so that public money produces visible results and avoids audit objections.
The rehabilitation programme also reflects the importance of coordination. The School Education and Literacy Department, Education Works Department, district education officers, engineers, school heads, local communities and development partners all have important roles to play. A school cannot be restored only through an announcement. It requires technical assessment, cost estimates, contractor work, quality checks, monitoring, community feedback and timely completion. The challenge is large, but progress in different districts shows that recovery is gradually moving from planning to implementation.
Still, it is important to remain realistic. Thousands of schools were damaged, and many still need full restoration. The work cannot be completed overnight. Some schools are located in remote areas. Some locations face waterlogging, weak road access and construction delays. Some buildings require complete reconstruction instead of simple repair. Therefore, the government must continue to treat this as a priority until every damaged school is made safe and functional. Education recovery should not slow down after initial progress. It must continue with the same seriousness until the last child returns to a proper classroom.
Flood rehabilitation also provides Sindh with an opportunity to rethink school infrastructure for the future. Climate change is now a real and repeated threat. Future schools must be designed with stronger structures, better drainage, raised plinth levels in flood-prone areas, safe roofs, durable materials, clean water, solar support and disaster preparedness. If this collective effort continues, the rehabilitation of flood-affected schools can become more than recovery. It can become a foundation for a stronger, safer and more resilient education system in Sindh. In the end, rebuilding schools means rebuilding futures. The 2022 floods damaged buildings, but they did not destroy the desire of children to learn. The responsibility of the state is to protect that desire. Through the rehabilitation of flood-affected schools, Sindh is taking important steps to restore education, rebuild confidence and give children the safe learning spaces they deserve.
The writer works at College Education Department, Government of Sindh.