The Balochistan government in Pakistan has removed 65 ‘habitual absentee schoolteachers’ from service, media reports said.

Officials of the directorate of education of Balochistan told Dawn News on Mon­day the termination orders of services of the schoolteachers were given by Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti.

They said the chief minister had taken serious notice of the existing ghost schools, absent teachers and other employees and non-functional schools in the province and ordered strict action against such teachers and other such schools’ staff.

“On the orders of the chief minister, the education department found ghost employees and issued termination orders of 65 teachers in the first phase while gradually services of 800 more such employees would be terminated after completing the necessary legal process,” an official of the education department told the newspaper.

He said the shortage of school teachers has forced shutting down of over 3,000 schools in Balochistan.

Most of the schools are located in Pishin district.