The education sector in the Swat area was severely damaged by the recent floods, leading to the partial or total closure of 128 government schools for both boys and girls.

The natural calamity has an impact on primary, medium, high, and upper secondary schools in multiple tehsils, district education department officials said Dawn.

According to them, most of the facilities experienced roof damage, boundary wall collapses, structural flaws, and flooded classrooms, making them unfit for educational purposes.

Despite the provincial government's announcement on Sunday that schools in the flood-affected districts would be closed for one day, the officials reported that all public and private educational institutions in Swat reopened on Monday. However, in 128 damaged schools, classes were not held.

In the district, floods also wrecked 1,849 homes after water surged through entire neighborhoods, leaving homes with nothing but rubble.

Affected pupils bemoaned the fact that the flood had carried away their finished assignments, textbooks, and notebooks.

According to one Matta student, "We lost all our books, notebooks, and schoolworkdone all through the year."

In Mingora city, the biggest bazaar for schoolbooks, stationery, and other goods in the region, Udyana Bazaar, was totally overrun, adding to the crisis's already severe effects.

Store owners claimed that the floodwater destroyed their inventory, depriving thousands of pupils of new school supplies and books.

"There are about fifty stores in our market alone, and they were all destroyed by the floods, which destroyed books and notebooks," Mingora bookseller Qadir Khan said.

Particularly in rural areas where there were few other options, teachers were concerned that the extended school shutdown and loss of instructional resources might result in a learning crisis.

Assessment surveys had been completed, and comprehensive results had been sent to the province administration, according to the district education officer.

In the meantime, local non-governmental organizations and education advocates have urged authorities to act immediately, cautioning that extended disruptions in education could result in high dropout rates, particularly among girls in rural areas.

Fazal Khaliq, the Swat director for education, informed Dawn that the floodwaters had impacted about 105 boys' elementary, middle, and high schools.

The school staff and volunteers have removed mud and sand from classrooms, he said, while the information about partially damaged schools has been sent to higher authorities for the necessary measures.

Schools with currently viable buildings will reopen in a few days, the official added.