KARACHI: 5,500 schools need funds & 15,000 staff, CM told
KARACHI, April 14: Chief Minister Ali Mohammad Mahar has said that it was the government’s desires to introduce revolutionary changes in the realm of education so as to change the destiny of Sindh.
He was speaking during a briefing of Education Department here on Monday.
The CM pointed out that the provincial government was spending 20 per cent of its budget on the promotion and expansion of education sector.
He described non-utilization of funds for school management committees and scholarships as ‘a matter of concern’.
Mr Mahar stressed the need for gearing up the working of Education Department with everyone’s focus on service to the people.
He also called for streamlining the education system in the right direction.
The chief minister emphasized that students be motivated to acquire education with interest and devotion.
He called for ensuring presence of teachers in all the educational institutions in order to achieve desired results.
Attaching great importance to assembly in the institutions, especially in primary schools, Mr Mahar directed that arrangements be made for the Qirat and national anthem at the students’ assemblies. He also called for a fixed compulsory period of Holy Quran and religious education. Besides, he said, there should be one period for the PT (physical training).
“In all the schools, especially the secondary schools, evening sports be declared compulsory.” he said.
The students of class-I to X be provided cricket bats, balls, rackets, etc, on behalf of the department, he added.
The chief minister further directed that utilization of government funds in a judicious manner be ensured monitoring system of educational institutions be activated.
Mr Mahar also instructed that the promotion of teachers be linked with training.
He emphasized the need for every step to improve the academic standards.
He called for appropriate measures to revive academic process at the closed schools.
Special attention, he said, should be paid to girls’ education.
NEW SCHOOLS: Speaking at the briefing, Education Minister Irfanullah Marwat said that there were 5,500 new schools in the province whose expenditure schedule had not been approved.
He pointed out that the SNE of at least 1,834 schools was required, and added that 15,000 staff for these schools would be needed.
For the first time, he said, textbooks this year had been published and handed over to the district governments on time. A sum of Rs10 million had been saved under this head, he added.
He told the CM that an amount of Rs265 million had been disbursed through district governments for grant of scholarships at the rate of Rs100 per month to each female student.
However, the amount has not be distributed among the students in a proper manner, he maintained, alleging that some district governments had shifted the funds to other heads.
Mr Marwat informed the CM that Rs1,500 million had been allocated for the school management committees and that it must be ensured that the amount would be used in a judicious manner.
The Secretary Education, Ghulam Ali Pasha, said that literacy rate in the province stood at 46.05. It is 65.2 per cent in urban areas and 26.9 in rural areas, he added.
Giving break-up of 46,004 educational institutions in the province, he said 39,176 are primary, 2,240 middle and 1,480 secondary schools. There are 339 higher secondary schools and colleges, 150 technical education institutions, 20 institutions of special education, 27 teachers training institutions and 2,572 private educational institutions, he said.
Mr Pasha said that the total enrolment of students in the province was 4,201,494. Of these, 2,348,681 were enrolled in primary, 445,514 in middle and 245,565 in secondary schools.
The enrolment in higher secondary schools and colleges is 154,463 whereas that of technical institutions is 3,781. There are as many as 198 students studying in special education institutions.
He pointed out that the total strength of teachers in the institutions was 152,456.—APP
