KARACHI, May 26: The Unicef representative in Pakistan, Ibrahim Joabi, along with the organization’s Sindh chief, Zeba Bokhari, called on the provincial education minister, Irfanullah Khan Marwat, here on Monday and discussed Unicef programmes for the province.
Mr Joabi told the minister that Unicef was launching programmes of girls’ education in Sindh particularly in rural areas to increase literacy rate.
Mr Marwat said that the provincial government was striving to bring the literacy rate to 100 percent. “Teachers would now be appointed in their own areas so as to ensure their full attendance in schools. This would also help them pay full attention to their students, he added.
The minister pointed out that the government was attaching great importance to the basic education and that teachers were being trained in this regard.
He said that it was for the first time that students had been provided free of cost books in time. The government was now planning to provide school bags to the students, he added.
Mr Marwat stressed the need for proper monitoring in order to improve the performance of educational institutions. Unicef representatives, he said, should also be included in the monitoring process.
MEETING WITH CS: Ibrahim Joabi also called on provincial Chief Secretary K. B. Rind at his office on Monday and discussed the coordination between his organization and the provincial government in health, education and social welfare sectors.
The two dignitaries discussed issues of child health, immunization programme and anti-polio drives in particular.
Mr Joabi was of the view that Sindh was ahead of other provinces with regard to the immunization programme and child health care services. He, however, pointed out that out of 23 polio cases, 15 belonged to Sindh.
Mr Rind said that the increase in polio cases was being looked into. A high level monitoring committee, headed by chief minister, was working in this regard,” he added.
He told the Unicef representative that women MPAs from Sindh were being contacted so as to ensure their participation in the Unicef sponsored programme on Health and Social Sector Development.
He said that he would be meeting the MPAs to seek their views so that a consolidated strategy could be evolved with regard to the Unicef’s reforms programme.
The CS further told him that information technology was being used to accelerate the pace of the reforms programme. “Thousands of officials would be imparted training in IT. In the first phase, 15,000 government employees would be trained while refresher courses are being initiated to impart training on the district Nazims and officers,” he maintained.
Mr Joabi informed the CS that funds amounting to US$120 million would be provided in the next fiscal year for the reforms programme meant for education and health sectors.—PPI
