KARACHI: Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah on Monday said that he was planning to undertake the rehabilitation and expansion of high enrolment schools and for the purpose, a portfolio of 4,650 schools had been selected to whom missing facilities would be provided.
This he said while talking to a World Bank delegation led by its Country Director Patchamuthu Illangovan who met him to discuss the conclusion of the Sindh Education Reforms Programme 2014-18.
The WB delegation members included Senior Director Dr Jaime Saavedra, South Asia Practice Manager Education Ms Keiko Miwa, Human Development Program Leader Ms Cristina Isabel Panasco Santos, South Asia Lead Education Economist Ms Tazeen Fasih, Ms Umbreen Arif, Senior Education Specialist Mr Shinsaku Nomura, Senior Economist Ms Marcela Gutierrez, Research Analyst Ms Mehreen Saeed, and a communication specialist.
The chief minister was assisted by Education Minister Jam Mehtab Dahar, P&D Chairman Mohammad Waseem, CM’s Principal Secretary Sohail Rajput, School Education Secretary Iqbal, MD Sindh Education Foundation Ms Naheed Shah Durrani.
“Today, we are in the era of the fourth industrial revolution. Just as I took office, I declared an education emergency,” he said and added that his government was taking tough actions to improve the education sector through a three-pronged strategy.
“They are addressing education access and infrastructure gaps by improving financial allocations; addressing quality of education by improving human resource in schools by competitive test-based recruitment of teachers and headmasters and regularly assessing children’s learning outcomes,” said Shah while explaining that he was planning to undertake a massive “Rehabilitation and Expansion of High Enrolment Schools”.
Another 554 schools have also been selected for up-gradation into elementary level again on the basis of strict criteria.
“We are increasingly focusing on a strategy, whereby we can ensure the progression of students beyond Grade 5 and ensure secondary education,” he said and added, “We plan to adequately equip all post-primary schools with Science and ICT labs to bring in facilities which can gradually help us strengthen students learning outcomes.”
The CM further said: “We still have huge challenges with a large number of out of school children and unemployed youth. It is very important for the government, development partners, and civil society to synergize resources and efforts to tackle this challenge. We thank the World Bank for their financial and technical support in the education and skills sectors.”
Speaking about ‘Early Childhood’ (EC) policy, Shah said that his government has recently finalized a mega intervention with the assistance of the bank, `The Sindh Nutrition Programme’ that involves multi-sectoral interventions to improve nutrition levels in mothers and children and to gradually contain stunting.
“We have finalized an `Early Childhood’ policy which first of all recognizes and enrols students in KG grades; their curriculum is also under finalization.”
Shah stated that the disadvantaged and marginalized segments of society in Sindh are a responsibility for all of us and observed: “The availability of food, access to nutrient food is substantially unaffordable to this segment of society,” he said and added “with collective efforts, we can turn the tide and achieve this cause.”
Speaking further on the topic of girls’ education, he said: “We fully realize the critical importance of educating girls. We understand that education of girls would provide many benefits in terms of the overall socio-economic development of the country. It helps in raising per capita income, family incomes and wellbeing as the girls become equipped to enter the job market.
The CM also informed that presently 14 schools have been outsourced and that 200 more are to be given under private management.
The World Bank country director appreciated the CM’s efforts and lauded his initiative of operating schools under PPP mode. He assured of his full support for the purpose.
