Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah on Monday emphasised the importance of foundational learning and early childhood care & education (ECCE), and approved the decentralisation of financial and administrative powers to school level for headmasters.
During a review meeting on school education that he chaired at the CM House, Shah supported the dissolution of additional or duplicate posts of town officers, district education officers (DEOs) and directors, and stressed the importance of digitising the education department.
The meeting decided to digitise teachers’ and students’ attendance with facial recognition technology, set a target to bring a million out-of-school children to schools, and also decided that every Taluka would have four model schools, and unnecessary administrative layers would be removed from Taluka to divisional level.
Moreover, a significant emphasis will be placed on technical education and skill development through initiatives like Middle Tech and Matric Tech, which will also incorporate science, technology, religion, engineering, arts, mathematics (STREAM) labs in both formal and non-formal sectors.
The CM also highlighted the importance of public-private partnerships through the Sindh Education Fund model and education management organisations, aiming to bridge the gap between primary and post-primary schools by enhancing existing schools and adding classrooms with essential facilities.
The meeting was informed that the province has 40,990 schools (36,300 primary, 2,600 elementary, 1,600 secondary and 490 higher secondary). Current enrolment stands at 5.2 million, comprising approximately 3.09 million boys (59 per cent) and 2.12 million girls (41 per cent).
The education minister reported that the number of out-of-school children is 7.8 million. The CM set a target of bringing a million children to school during the next financial year. He expressed satisfaction over girls’ enrolment ratio, terming it encouraging.
The meeting was told that the net enrolment rate for primary education is 67 per cent, and 22 per cent for secondary education. Shah emphasised the need to address the challenges in transitioning from primary to post-primary education by upgrading primary schools.
To facilitate this transition, he approved initiating second shifts of elementary schools within existing primary schools to help close the gap between primary and post-primary education.
In consultation with the education department, he decided to abolish several positions of DEOs at district level (DEO SEMIS, DEO academics, DEO sports and DEO quality assurance). The number of Taluka education officers (TEOs) will also be reduced; instead of four, there will be one TEO per Taluka.
Moreover, instead of two DEOs (one for secondary and one for primary), there will be one DEO per district for better unity of command and efficient administration. Similarly, at divisional level there will be one director of school education instead of two.
The CM also decided to transform existing high schools into model schools, establishing four model schools in each Taluka to enhance the quality of education. By the 2025-26 academic year, approximately 150 schools will be developed as model institutions, with a total of 600 schools expected to be transformed by the end of the 2028-29 academic year.
The meeting decided to strengthen school management committees, enhancing training and community engagement and decentralising powers at school level through a clustering policy. The goal is to increase the institutional capacity of teacher training institutes.
The school clustering policy will be implemented across the province, with 1,656 clusters of schools having been identified. DEOs and heads of cluster hub schools will receive training.
The CM instructed the education department to notify the cluster hub schools and their respective job descriptions. The target for the 2025-26 academic year is to have 1,150 clusters with cost centres.
Shah said that many schools lack essential facilities such as water, sanitation, toilets, compound walls and solar power. He directed the education department to empower headmasters to access these facilities through a school-specific budget.
He approved upgrading 1,600 primary schools to secondary level, equipped with solar power and drinking water facilities. He instructed the education minister to develop a detailed plan that would allow for the allocation of a school-specific budget in the upcoming financial year.
The CM approved various initiatives, including capacity building and training, continuous professional development and pedagogy training for all cluster hub schools, training for headmaster subject teachers and subject specialists, including ICT skills training, and a review and update of the curricula.
Under the enhancement of foundational learning, he approved the improvement of ECCE, and the establishment of STREAM labs and skills labs in post-primary schools.
He also approved transforming existing high schools into model schools, and establishing smart classrooms in elementary and high schools. He directed the education department to implement a teaching licence system.
A report indicated that 19,808 schools were damaged in the 2022 floods, with 4,089 of those schools currently being reconstructed under the annual development and public sector development programmes.
When the CM was told that the damage to these schools has affected the enrolment of 2.3 million children, he directed the education minister to expedite the reconstruction efforts.