‘Education emergency’: Sindh says nothing clear has emerged so far

KARACHI: Provincial Minister for Education and Mineral Development of Sindh, Syed Sardar Ali Shah said that despite the federal government’s announcement of an education emergency a few months ago, nothing clear has emerged about the collaboration with the provinces to improve education.

He added that no consultation was done with them before the education emergency was announced.

He expressed these views while speaking to the media after attending a ceremony as the chief guest, organised by the Sindh Education Foundation. He said that due to heavy rains, 20,000 schools in Sindh have been affected, and 2 million children are forced to study in challenging conditions, with school buildings no longer fit for educational purposes. It is surprising that the federal government decided on an education emergency, yet there is no clear policy for the 26 million out-of-school children in the country.

He urged the federal government to consider the children of Sindh as children of the nation and play its role in the restoration of the flood-affected schools.

He expressed hope that the promises made by the federal government for the restoration of schools damaged by the rains will be fulfilled soon. He further added that the federal government should consult with all provinces regarding the issue of out-of-school children.

Earlier, the Sindh Education Foundation held a ceremony in a local hotel in Karachi to honor the school adopters who took on the responsibility of reactivating non-functional government schools. Secretary of School Education Sindh Zahid Ali Abbasi, Managing Director of Sindh Education Foundation Qazi Kabir, former Governor of Sindh and school adopter Lt. General Moinuddin Haider (retd), and other school adopters, teachers, and students were present in the ceremony, Shah acknowledged the school adopters, saying, “We admire those who have not only adopted the schools but have also adopted our shortcomings, which we view with high regard. Adopting a school is akin to a mother’s care, taking on the noble responsibility of educating the nation’s children.”

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024