Pakistan High Commission in India shuts down school due to political and economic crisis

New Delhi: The Pakistan High Commission here has shut down its in-house school in Delhi, therefore suspending all the activities on account of low enrolment. As a result, all the staff employed in the school, all of whom were Indian nationals, have been terminated from their job.

As per notice issued by the High Commission to its teaching and non-teaching staff, the decision to shut down the school has been attributed to “low enrolment”.

The school catered to the needs of children of the mission’s staff, which dwindled after Islamabad downgraded its strength in 2020. Upon completion of the current academic year, the activities of the Pakistan High Commission School have been suspended, because of low enrolment levels in view of the downgraded strength of the High Commission, a Pakistan High Commission spokesperson said in response to media queries.

“It may be noted that the school was never open to public and exclusively catered to the needs of children of staff of the High Commission,” he said.

This unprecedented step is being attributed to the economic and financial crisis that Pakistan has been facing. The Pakistan embassy is finding it hard to meet day to day expenses and fulfil its basic requirements.

Around 30 students were enrolled in the school, out of which about 25 were shifted to “outside” schools, the cost of which is to be borne by the respective parents themselves. After this, by giving the rationale that it was not viable to have a full school consisting of one principal, six teachers and one non-teaching staff for five students, the school was shut down last month.

(with PTI inputs)