In the last week of April 2025, the Government of Sindh issued a notification appointing the highly respected and well-known bureaucrat, Mr Gahanwer Ali Laghari, as the Managing Director of the Sindh Education Foundation (SEF). Demonstrating his deep commitment and proactive leadership, Mr Laghari was in the field the very next day of his joining, visiting some of the most remote, marginalised, and underprivileged areas across various districts of Karachi.
During his visit to the villages of District Malir, Keamari, and Korangi, he met with community members, children, stakeholders, and local leaders. The outreach included villages such as Baba Bhit, Noor Muhammad Goth, Samano Goth, Kalmati Goth, Murad Khan Kalmati Goth, Khando Goth, and several others. These engagements offered valuable insights into the unique educational challenges faced by each village and community.
It became evident that each locality requires a tailored, context-sensitive approach to ensure meaningful educational outreach. One of the recurring themes during these interactions was the reluctance of many community members to send their children to school. Parents frequently cited economic hardship and the high opportunity cost of education as primary concerns. Many explained that the pressing demands of poverty have forced them to make “economic decisions” over decisions based on the long-term future and development of their children.
Despite these challenges, the visit marked an important step toward understanding ground realities and building trust with the communities. It reinforced SEF’s commitment to developing inclusive, need-based strategies that bring education closer to the underserved and empower families to prioritise learning for a brighter tomorrow.
Gahanwer Ali Laghari took the initiative to mobilise communities, stakeholders, parents and children, emphasising the importance of education and the principle of “Education for All.” He highlighted the various ways SEF is supporting this cause, reinforcing that the responsibility of ensuring education for every child lies not only with SEF and the Government of Sindh, but also with the communities themselves.
Currently, SEF supports over one million students across more than 2,800 schools, including 35 public schools, 223 learning centers, and 125 micro-schools. This is made possible through collaborations with over 1,400 private partners, including individuals and organizations. The Managing Director also briefed communities on both formal and non-formal education initiatives, reaffirming SEF’s commitment to inclusivity and outreach.
After sharing all the happenings on social media platforms and other resources of information it was seen that majority of the people were praising for his previous roles in different areas of Sindh, that being a commissioner, how he played his great role, and what reforms he made in the communities.
He made a comprehensive plan of field-visit along with his team, and visited Dhabeji, Gharo, Makli, Thatta, Shaheed Benazir Abad, Larkana and Sukkur regions, took the initiative of enrollment drive across the Sindh in line with the visionary leadership of the Honourable Chief Minister Sindh, Chief Secretary Sindh, and Minister for School Education and Literacy Department, after his direction every single official, regional head, district head, partner, operator of school, faculty, children, community and civil society jointly came forward and started a momentum focused on out-of-school children (OOSC) and the importance of girls’ education in connection with the enrollment drive for academic year 2025-26.
Public-private partnership (PPP) model of the Sindh Government is playing a transformative role in improving education. While awareness is crucial, real change stems from collective action. Let us work towards a society where both girls and boys have equal opportunities to learn, grow, and contribute to a sustainable and brighter future.
He believes that “Education remains one of the most powerful tools for dismantling inequality. Access to quality education can transform lives—especially for girls—by helping them break the cycles of poverty and gender bias. To bridge this gap, it is critical to ensure that schools are inclusive, resilient, and accessible to all children. Teachers must also be empowered to promote gender equality within classrooms, creating an environment where both girls and boys feel equally supported to learn and thrive.”
In order to bring out-of-school children into the fold of formal education, SEF intends to establish Foundation Assisted Schools (FAS) across all districts of Sindh. For this purpose, the SEF has invited proposals from qualified individuals and non-governmental organisations, this initiative highlights the government’s ongoing efforts to expand access to quality education for every out of school child in Sindh.
However, in a series of regional engagements in Mirpurkhas, Hyderabad and Larkana, Gahanwer Ali Laghari also discussed the importance of regular school visits, announcing that SEF will implement twice-a-month partner support and facilitation visits at each school. These efforts will be carried out in collaboration with SEF’s respected partners to enhance student and teacher attendance, improve learning outcomes, and reinforce the Foundation’s commitment to quality education. Which is also a great contribution of his commitment with free and quality education for all.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
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