KARACHI, Jan 27: Sindh Education Minister Dr Hamida Khuhro has urged people, especially parents, to assist the government in its efforts towards the promotion of education , saying: "without putting this sector on top of our national priorities, we cannot compete in the world.''

Speaking at the Annual Prize Distribution Ceremony and Talent Show-2004, organized by the Bahria College, Karsaz, here on Thursday, Dr Khuhro said that around 50 per cent children in Sindh were without education while the remaining ones did not have adequate education facilities.

She observed that there were a large number of shelterless families in the province and in many areas there were one/two-room schools for their children, who could not have even an environment of learning.

The minister said that President Musharraf was keenly interested in providing a strong educational base to the nation, and in this regard, the federal government had accorded due priority to this sector.

She, however, made it clear that these efforts could remain fruitless unless masses at large, especially parents, participated in the process actively. She lauded the services of Pakistan Navy to this sector, saying that along with the task of safeguarding sea frontiers, the navy was also contributing to the provision of quality education.

"Our people have tremendous potential and there is no challenge or task big enough for them; faith is the only pre-requisite," she remarked. Dr Khuhro appreciated the performance of children who presented tableau, and said that it was the hard work by their teachers.

She maintained that old concepts of education, old curricula and old teaching methodology could not be the right answer to the modern-day challenges. She stressed on equipping the younger generation with the education which could help them tackle the new economic, social and technological challenges of this modern age.

She pointed out that curricula of primary education was being revised to giving a child less text and more activity, and added that best teaching methodology was based upon activities, innovation and interaction.

She also appreciated the Pakistan Navy for paying due attention to special children, and urged the society to follow suit. She made an appeal to the managements of major private schools to provide all possible facilities to special children with regard to their education.

Earlier, Principal of the Bahria College Commander M. Tayab, spoke to the audience and said that the Pakistan Navy was fully alive to its responsibility of giving the nation a very strong base for quality education at all levels.

He gave a brief resume of the achievements by the college vis-a-vis curriculum and co-curriculum activities. On this occasion, he announced that the Pakistan Navy was establishing a separate school for special children. The Rs80 million project, he added, was being launched with the assistance of the Pakistan Navy Women Association and philanthropists. - PPI