KARACHI: Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah, presiding over a meeting regarding the launching ceremony of the Student Attendance Monitoring and Redress System (SAMRS), emphasised the importance of improving education as the foundation of a strong and capable human resource in the province.
He instructed the School Education Department to make full use of technology to monitor student attendance, reduce dropout rates, and address causes of absenteeism. The Chief Minister directed education officials to ensure that the new system not only identifies absentees but also investigates underlying issues in teaching environments and ensures timely interventions.
The meeting at CM House was attended by Minister for Education Syed Sardar Shah, Chief Secretary Asif Hyder Shah, Chairman P&D Najam Shah, Secretary School Education Zahid Abbasi, Secretary Finance Fayaz Jatoi, Secretary to CM Raheem Shaikh and others.
SAMRS, a landmark initiative of the School Education and Literacy Department (SELD), has been developed under the Sindh Early Learning Enhancement through Classroom Transformation (SELECT) Project. Supported by the Government of Sindh, the World Bank, and the Global Partnership for Education (GPE), this system aims to leverage technology for strengthening the education sector.
Briefing the meeting, Education Minister Syed Sardar Ali Shah described SAMRS as a technology-driven solution to lower dropout rates by not only addressing absenteeism but also identifying broader issues relating to school environment, teacher performance, and student learning outcomes.
Sardar Shah said that the system offers real-time data collection through an offline mobile application and dashboard, recording attendance and key indicators directly from schools daily. Launched initially in 600 schools across 12 districts, the program is intended to cover all schools in Sindh in phases.
Syed Sardar Shah called this initiative a pioneering step for Sindh, not just in Pakistan but as a model for the Global South, Africa, and Latin America, where technology is being increasingly used to improve educational systems and support student retention.
The provincial launch ceremony, scheduled shortly, will be attended by Ms Bolormaa Amgaabazar, Country Director of the World Bank, along with representatives from global development agencies, local education stakeholders, and delegations from Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan, and Islamabad across both public and private sectors.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
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