QUETTA About 250 buildings of government-run schools in the Ziarat district were destroyed in the Oct 29 earthquake in Balochistan.

Out of 254 school buildings only four remain intact, provincial Education Minister Shafiq Ahmed Khan told Dawn on Saturday.

He said that about 25 per cent of school buildings in the Quetta district were also damaged and added that these buildings needed immediate repair.

Education of over 10,000 students in the province was affected, he said, adding that schools in the quake-hit areas had been reopened but classes were being conducted in the open.

The minister said students of two union councils had been promoted to next classes without taking their examinations because majority of students in these areas were still in a state of shock and facing psychological problems.

He said the government was preparing a plan for reconstruction of damaged school buildings. The PC-1 has been prepared and construction would be started after winter, he added.