August 17, 2007	Friday	Sha’aban 3, 1428

RAWALPINDI, Aug 16: School children in the flood-hit areas of Sindh and Balochistan may loose at least three months of education this year, says a UN report. School enrolment rates in Balochistan and rural Sindh are the lowest in the country and there is a risk of losing more children if schools are not reopened soon. In some areas, schools were scheduled to reopen in mid-September.

However, a report prepared by the Unicef says that it was working in close cooperation with partners to support local authorities to find alternative shelter solutions for the internally-displace persons (IDP) who were living in schools and to fumigate the buildings before the children resume classes.

The provincial authorities in Sindh, according to the report, estimated that 700 schools have been partially or completely destroyed and that some schools were still sub-merged under flood waters in Dadu and Kamber districts.

The directorate of education in Balochistan reports that 1,200 schools have been partially or completely damaged and 90 per cent of affected schools require teaching and learning materials and school furniture.

In Kech district, Balochistan, 150 government schools will be provided with basic educational supplies by the Unicef; 80 out of the 150 schools will also be provided with transitional shelters targeting 4,500 children. In Khuzdar district educational activities have resumed in 83 schools for 5,000 children, the report says.