Despite a more than four-month-long enrollment campaign by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government, the number of new admissions in public schools has remained well below the target.

According to official figures, government primary and secondary schools were assigned a target of enrolling 1,161,203 new students. However, only 422,899 children have been enrolled so far, achieving just 36% of the target.

In contrast, private schools outperformed their target. They were assigned a goal of 398,587 new admissions but enrolled 421,999 students, surpassing the set target.

Overall, public and private educational institutions were expected to enroll 1,972,338 new students. So far, 890,302 admissions have been recorded, representing 45% of the overall target.

District-wise, the performance of public schools varied significantly. In North Waziristan, only 165 children were enrolled against a target of 26,873, achieving approximately 1% of the target.

In Upper Kohistan, 1,377 students were enrolled against a target of 17,334, while Dera Ismail Khan enrolled 7,351 students against a target of 57,678, reaching 13% of its target. Similarly, Khyber, Tank, and Lower South Waziristan recorded enrollment rates between 13% and 14%.

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In Peshawar, 28,155 students were enrolled against a target of 122,380. Mardan enrolled 25,475 students out of a target of 67,806, Bajaur enrolled 15,814 against 50,654, and Bannu recorded 7,579 admissions against a target of 46,717.

On the other hand, Abbottabad recorded the best performance, enrolling 22,666 students against a target of 25,709, achieving 88% of its goal. Upper Chitral enrolled 2,667 students out of 3,211 (83%), while Upper Dir enrolled 28,995 students against a target of 36,419, achieving 80%. Lower Dir and Lower Chitral also performed comparatively better than most other districts.

Education officials said that the implementation of the semester system and several changes to the academic calendar during the current academic year slowed the pace of the enrollment campaign.