Power Outages: Sindh Education Offices Face Weeks of Disruption as Public Services Stall
Nearly three weeks of prolonged load-shedding have disrupted admissions, school registrations and online services across key education directorates, while officials say repeated complaints to K-Electric remain unanswered.
Employees work outside education offices during prolonged power outages in Karachi.
KARACHI: Power Outages have severely disrupted operations at several key education offices in Sindh, bringing public services, online systems and administrative work to a near standstill for almost three weeks despite officials claiming that all electricity bills have been cleared.
The disruption has affected the Directorate General Colleges Sindh, Regional Directorate Government Colleges Sindh, Directorate General Private Institutions Sindh and Regional Directorate Private Schools Karachi. Prolonged load-shedding during office hours has slowed routine operations and delayed essential public services.
Officials said recurring power cuts have disabled computer systems, internet connectivity and printing facilities, delaying the online registration of private schools, issuance of computerized certificates, complaint processing and admission-related work for government colleges.
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The Directorate of Inspection and Registration of Private Institutions on Burns Road has experienced the most severe impact. Staff members continue to struggle with daily operations as electricity remains unavailable for extended periods.
According to officials, electricity typically goes off between 11:00am and 2:00pm and again after 4:00pm, leaving offices with power for only three to four hours during a standard eight-hour working day. The limited electricity supply has created a significant backlog of administrative work.
Deputy Director Inspections said the prolonged outages have seriously affected the department’s digital operations. Computer systems, internet access and printing services become unavailable during power cuts, preventing officials from completing routine government services and processing public requests efficiently.
He added that the department has paid all electricity bills in full. Despite repeated complaints and formal letters sent to K-Electric, officials have yet to receive a practical solution to the ongoing problem.
Education officials also confirmed that the disruption has affected the ongoing government college admission process across Sindh, creating delays for students seeking admission.
Teachers, students, parents, principals, school owners and members of the public visit these offices daily for admissions, registrations, complaints and other official matters. However, prolonged outages force many visitors to wait for hours, while others leave without completing their work.
Officials said power failures have affected all three floors of the building. Without electricity, air conditioners and fans stop working, creating extreme heat and uncomfortable working conditions inside the offices. Many officers and employees have been forced to continue their duties while sitting outside their offices.
The affected departments have urged the authorities to restore an uninterrupted electricity supply during office hours and resolve technical issues, including transformer-related faults, to ensure the smooth functioning of government offices and public services.
K-Electric’s spokesperson did not respond to requests for comment on the matter.
