CM approves Rs500m for IT certification by three varsities

Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah has approved a grant of Rs500 million to start IT certification programmes in nine trades, focusing on poverty reduction strategies, to enhance the IT skills of students and professionals across the province.

He said the certification programmes would provide practical skills and industry-recognized certifications to stand out in a competitive job market. A meeting was held in this regard at the CM House on Friday for the signing of an MoU. The meeting was attended by Chief Secretary Asif Hyder Shah, HEC Sindh Chairman Prof Tariq Rafi, Secretary to CM Raheem Shaikh, Secretary Information, Science & Technology Noor Ahmad Samon, Secretary Universities & Boards Abbas Baloch, VC NED University Dr Suresh Lodhi, VC IBA Sukkur Dr Asif Shaikh, VC Mehran University Prof Tauha Hussain, IT Department Member Ayaz Uqaili and others.

Secretary IT Noor Samo, while briefing the CM, stated that the NED University would offer IT courses in Karachi Division and Tharparkar district, the Mehran University will cover Hyderabad, Mirpurkhas, and Shaheed Benazirabad, Sukkur divisions, and the IBA University will cover Larkana division.

The programmes are initially designed to benefit 10,000 youths, with the potential to increase the number of beneficiaries. The CM has provided Rs500 million to the Sindh IT Department under the ‘Initiative of Capacity Building’ for the selected universities.

He was informed that the IT Certification programme includes Certified JAVA Developer, Certified Python Developer, Certified Database Administrator, Certified Graphic Designer, Certified E-Commerce Professional, Certified Digital Marketing Professional, Certified Web Developer, Certified Mobile Application Developer, and Certified Data Scientist.

In response to a question, IT Secretary Noor Samoo informed the CM that each certificate has a two-month duration. The certification courses will be conducted five days a week, from Monday to Friday. Each batch will consist of 30 to 35 participants.

The programme will be conducted in two phases: IT certification in the first phase and further training of the selected/top-ranked participants. All IT certifications will be offered at the training centres. At the conclusion, an MoU was signed by the IT Secretary with the NED University Karachi, IBA University Sukkur, and Mehran University, Jamshoro.