10 February 2005	Thursday	30 Zilhaj 1425

KARACHI, Feb 9: The Sindh minister for education and literacy, Dr Hamida Khuhro, has called for preparing a plan for an independent monitoring unit so that check and balance could be developed in the education sector.

It would help ensure positive results from public sector educational institutions with regard to quality education and access for all.

She issued directives to this effect while attending a briefing held to prepare a presentation to be given to the Sindh chief minister at her office on Wednesday.

She said the World Bank and other agencies had already been asked to support the education department with regard to the establishment of an independent monitoring unit.

Dr Hamida also directed that a feasibility report be prepared for the satellite connectivity of all districts with the provincial headquarters and Islamabad.

She stressed the need for the collection of correct data about the present education system of the province in this regard.

The secretary education, Mohammad Hashim Leghari, Special Secretary Syed Sohail Akbar Shah, and other officers told the minister that as per the available data, Sindh had a 45 per cent literate population, with 64 per cent in urban and 32 per cent in rural areas. Besides, there were a total of 44,255 public sector educational institutions including 40,121 primary schools.

It was further informed that out of 6.38 million children in the school going age, only 3.6 million were enrolled while the rest were out of schools.

Dr Hamida was informed that the heavy school dropouts after primary and the higher level of gender and urban-rural disparity were big problems for the department.- APP