Ghost School

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The term "Ghost School" refers to both a critical socio-political issue in Pakistan and an internationally acclaimed 2025 feature drama film directed by Seemab Gul that highlights this crisis. In reality, a "ghost school" is an official term for an educational institution that exists only on paper or has been completely abandoned; while the government continues to allocate monthly budgets for maintenance and teacher salaries, the funds are routinely siphoned off by corrupt local politicians or "ghost teachers" who get paid but never show up, leaving thousands of rural school buildings to fall into ruin or be repurposed as private cattle sheds. Gul’s film uses a blend of social and magical realism to explore this structural corruption through the eyes of Rabia, a precocious 10-year-old girl in a rural village who investigates why her school has suddenly been shut down under the local pretense that it is haunted by a Jinn. After earning widespread acclaim at major international festivals like the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) in September 2025 and the Berlin International Film Festival (Berlinale) in February 2026, the film recently sparked widespread controversy on August 4, 2026, when the Sindh Board of Film Censors denied it a screening certificate, declaring it "unsuitable for public screening" in the very province where much of the real-world crisis persists.

Sindh Censors Deny 'Ghost School' a Certificate, Banning It in the Film's Own Province

Seemab Gul's debut feature, which premiered at TIFF and screened at the Berlinale, cannot be publicly shown in the region whose education crisis it depicts

Zoya Mahroosh ZulfiqarAUG 4, 2026

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FilmAUG 4, 2026

Sindh Censors Deny 'Ghost School' a Certificate, Banning It in the Film's Own Province

Zoya Mahroosh Zulfiqar
The term "Ghost School" refers to both a critical socio-political issue in Pakistan and an internationally acclaimed 2025 feature drama film directed by Seemab Gul that highlights this crisis. In reality, a "ghost school" is an official term for an educational institution that exists only on paper or has been completely abandoned; while the government continues to allocate monthly budgets for maintenance and teacher salaries, the funds are routinely siphoned off by corrupt local politicians or "ghost teachers" who get paid but never show up, leaving thousands of rural school buildings to fall into ruin or be repurposed as private cattle sheds. Gul’s film uses a blend of social and magical realism to explore this structural corruption through the eyes of Rabia, a precocious 10-year-old girl in a rural village who investigates why her school has suddenly been shut down under the local pretense that it is haunted by a Jinn. After earning widespread acclaim at major international festivals like the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) in September 2025 and the Berlin International Film Festival (Berlinale) in February 2026, the film recently sparked widespread controversy on August 4, 2026, when the Sindh Board of Film Censors denied it a screening certificate, declaring it "unsuitable for public screening" in the very province where much of the real-world crisis persists.

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