The educational institutions in Killa Saifullah district include one intermediate college, 10 high schools, 20 middle schools and 332 primary schools. Besides these public sector educational institutions, 2 lower middle schools exist in the private sector. Many of the government schools in the district are not functional. These schools exist on paper only. Their staff is getting salary but no teaching activities are carried out. This situation suffers from the absence of any reliable official data about these non-functional schools.

The government school system in Killa Saifullah follows the national pattern. It is divided into three stages: primary, middle and high. The entry point for the primary stage is kachi which is actually first part of class one while the second part is pakki. In this way the student spends two years to pass class one. After class one four more years are required to pass primary stage (class 5). Middle stage (class 6 to 8) is of 3 years’ duration and high section (class 9 and 10) is of two years. In order to get a secondary school certificate a total of 11 years of schooling is required.

There are 278 boys and 54 girls primary schools in the district. Sixty-six of these are mosque schools which have the status of primary schools while 15 other primary schools have been mosque schools that have now been designated as primary schools. Some of the mosque schools are attended by both boys and girls. In 1996, 190 of the primary schools in Killa Saifullah were single teacher schools. According to the BEMIS report 1996, one mosque school, 7 boys primary schools and 6 girls primary schools were without a single teacher. Usually a Junior Vernacular Teacher (JVT) is appointed in a primary school. The teacher-student ratio in boys primary schools is 1:18 and for girls primary schools this ratio increases to 1:36. A few boys and girls were enrolled in the primary schools meant for the opposite sex.

The Taleem Foundation has established two grammar schools at Killa Saifullah and Muslim Bagh. Both of the schools run up to class 6. At present 93 students are enrolled in Muslim Bagh school and 170 at Killa Saifullah. Each of the students is charged a monthly fee of rupees 330 along with rupees 500 as admission fee and another rupees 500 as refundable security. All of the teachers are Master’s degree holders and are paid a reasonable remuneration.

There is no vocational training facility in the district, neither in public nor private sector. However an English language institute, named ICN English Language Centre, is working in Muslim Bagh.

In Killa Saifullah, there are 16 boys and 4 girls middle schools. These schools provide education up to the 8th grade which includes primary section as well. Ideally the staff of a middle school comprises Secondary School Teachers, Junior English Teachers, Junior Arabic Teachers, Drawing Master, Physical Training Instructor, Mualim-ul-Quran and Junior Vernacular Teachers. The teacher-student ratio in primary sections of the boys and girls middle schools is 1:15 and 1:9 respectively . This ratio for middle sections of the boys middle schools and girls middle schools is 1:5 and 1:13 respectively.

Killa Saifullah has 8 boys and 2 girls high schools. All high schools in the district have all 3 sections: primary, middle and high. In addition to the sanctioned teaching staff for a middle school, every high school is considered to have a head master/mistress and subject specialists. In the boys high schools teacher-student ratio for the primary, middle and high sections is 1:21, 1:14 and 1:13 respectively. For the female students in the girls high schools this ratio is 1:24 for the primary, 1:22 for the middle and 1:6 for the high sections.

The district has only one intermediate college for boys at Killa Saifullah. However, a few girls also study at this college. In 1996, there were 186 boys and 11 girls in the college. At present the strength of the teaching staff in the college is 10.

The girls of the district do not have a separate college. In a society like that of Killa Saifullah it is a real tough job for girls to get education in a boys college. The motivation on the part of girls themselves and of their parents for obtaining higher education is indicative of their solid determination to contribute to development – socio-economic as well as intellectual. It should be noted that majority of the girls school teachers in Pushtun area of Balochistan comes from Muslim Bagh area. It may be of great importance if a girls college is established in Muslim Bagh so that the girls of the district have an equal opportunity to get education. This is a prerequisite for any nation that wants to excel in the field of socio-economic development.

There are two District Education Officers in Killa Saifullah, one for male and the other for female students, that administer the government schools system in Killa Saifullah district. They are assisted by Sub Divisional Education Officers and other auxiliary staff. Every high school is headed by a Head Master (in BPS 17), middle schools have a Senior Science Teacher as Head Master (in BPS 16), while primary schools are headed by a senior Junior Vernacular Teacher (in BPS 7).

The buildings of primary schools in Killa Saifullah usually consist of only one room, either kacha (made of mud or un-baked bricks) or pakka (made of baked bricks or cement blocks) and even this one room is not available in some schools. There are 56 primary schools without shelter, out of which 6 are for girls. A boundary wall is not present outside some of the girls primary schools. Toilets are a rare facility in the primary schools, however, in most of the girls primary schools the availability of a toilet has been ensured.

Usually a middle school is provided with 5 class rooms and toilet facilities. According to the specifications provided by the Department of Education, a boundary wall is not an absolute necessity for girls middle schools. High schools are supposed to have 15-20 class rooms with toilets and a boundary wall.

Although the budget for construction and repair work of the school buildings is allocated on district basis, the Third Education Project and the Primary Education Department are responsible for using this budget. The planning for construction work is centralised and the concerned headmaster is rarely consulted in this regard. This practice sometimes results in inappropriate utilisation of funds.

The provincial government is the main actor in provision of educational facilities to the people in Killa Saifullah. The grammar schools established by the Taleem foundation are providing quality education to the children of Killa Saifullah district.

The girls in Killa Saifullah face great problems in obtaining college education in the absence of separate girls college. This not only deprives the females of an equal opportunity for higher education but also results in non-availability of educated females for the health and education sectors.

There are a few refresher courses for school teachers. The majority of the teachers are not appropriately trained for teaching. Many schools do not function due to absence of teaching staff. Buildings of the schools hardly meet the requirements. Most of the primary schools are single room schools while in some schools the students have to take their classes in the open air.