Blome vows more US support for advancement of Sindh’s education sector

US Ambassador to Pakistan Donald Blome met the newly elected Sindh chief minister, Syed Murad Ali Shah, at the CM House on Friday and told him that the US administration would provide utmost support for the progress and welfare of the people of Sindh.

He said the US administration would provide more support for the advancement of the education sector in the province. Ambassador Blome greeted Shah on the assumption of the office of provincial chief executive for the consecutive third time.

He mentioned that he was the first one among the diplomatic corps posted in Pakistan to come to meet Shah to greet him on becoming the Sindh CM for the new term. The CM expressed gratitude to the ambassador. The US diplomat discussed with the CM his governance goals for the third term. Shah told Blome that he would do his best to implement the 10-point election manifesto of Chairman Pakistan Peoples Party Bilawal Bhutto Zardari in the province.

He said the restoration of law and order in the province was a top priority of his government, as were the supply of clean potable water to the residents of Karachi, availability of modern transport facilities, and civic infrastructure.

The CM informed the US diplomat that a social protection programme would be implemented for poverty alleviation in the province. He assured Blome that his government would take steps for the promotion of the education sector in the province.

Shah said that his provincial government would also take steps for industrial and agricultural advancement for the good of the national economy. He said his new government would complete the pending development works in Sindh.

Meanwhile, the Sindh government’s Education Department announced the completion of the construction of 106 new school buildings in the province under the Sindh Basic Education Programme implemented in partnership with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

The school buildings have been constructed in seven districts of the province. A ceremony was held at the Government Secondary School at Dumba Goth in Karachi on Friday to mark the successful completion of the project.

The ceremony was attended by US Ambassador to Pakistan Donald Blome, and former Sindh education minister and newly elected PPP MPA Syed Sardar Ali Shah, who represented the CM.

The US diplomat informed the audience that the people of America had been extending support to several projects being executed for the advancement of the education sector in the province.

An important component of the Sindh Basic Education Programme was establishing liaison with the local communities so that help could be extended to the concerned parents to understand better and resolve the academic issues of their children belonging to underprivileged families.

Blome said the US administration would continue to provide support to the Sindh government for the training of teachers, provision of technical assistance, and vital information required for improvement of the education sector.

The former education minister said that 106 schools built under the Sindh Basic Education Programme had a total enrollment of 70,000 male and female students. He said the PPP’s Sindh government had adopted the public-private partnership mode to launch different successful projects in the education sector.

He said the past PPP regime in Sindh had spent Rs1,717.954 million for the execution of the Sindh Basic Education Programme. The US diplomat and the former education minister visited the building of the Government Secondary School, Dumba Goth, completed under the Sindh Basic Education Programme.

The Sindh Basic Education Programme was completed with 15 new school buildings built in Khairpur, 13 each in Sukkur, Kashmore, and Larkana; 21 in Kambar Shahdadkot, 12 in Dadu, 10 in Jacobabad, four in Malir, three in Karachi West, while one school building each was built in Karachi South and Keamari districts. All the new school buildings have environment-friendly and climate-resilient structures.

According to a press release, US Ambassador Donald Blome said: “High quality basic education positions every child for success, and we firmly believe that it is one of the best investments we can make in any country. Let’s continue to expand access to education, prioritize learning, and scale these reforms across Sindh and all of Pakistan so that all children can thrive.”