KARACHI: Expressing dissatisfaction on the professional teaching quality from primary to secondary level, Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah has stressed the need to focus on teachers’ training.

He also directed the authorities to send all those teachers having no capacity to teach to other wings of the school education department.

The chief minister was presiding over a meeting here on Wednesday to review development schemes of the school education department and work out new uplift portfolio for the next financial year.

He directed the school education department to decentralise primary school management by handing over administrative and financial powers to headmasters in grade-17.

This would be the best way to utilise budget at the primary school level, he added.

The education minister has suggested creation of music teachers’ post in secondary schools

At present, funds worth Rs2 billion of school-specific budget and Rs500 million for innovative initiatives are under the control of the education department. The schools, through the district education officers and directors, keep requesting the secretariat to release their budget but the release of the amount took a long time.

Education Secretary Kazi Shahid Pervez informed the chief minister that 201 schemes, including 199 ongoing and two new, were in progress with an allocation of Rs15.150bn against which Rs8.284bn had been released while the expenditures by the end of April had been recorded at Rs4.194bn.

On the proposal of the department to start 149 new schemes in the next annual development programme, the chief minister said in the next budget efforts would be made to complete the ongoing schemes on a priority basis.

Education Minister Sardar Shah said that he had a plan to construct 179 two-roomed buildings for shelter-less primary schools in 19 districts with a proposed cost of Rs1.168bn.

He also proposed rehabilitation of 29 high-enrolment dangerous primary/elementary school buildings for Rs2.610bn.

He also proposed to create the posts of music teachers in secondary schools. “Music will relax the students and inculcate their learning instincts,” he added.

The chief minister asked the education department to have a separate meeting with the planning and development and finance departments for including new schemes in the next budget.

He also directed the department to prepare a scheme under which students of government schools could be provided transport facility to those schools where primary to higher secondary schools are housed.

Besides the minister and secretary education, P&D chairperson Naheed Shah, principal secretary to CM Sajid Jamal Abro, finance secretary Najam Shah, colleges secretary Pervez Sihar, P&D secretary Shireen Narejo, chief economist Fatah Tunio attended the meeting.

Published in Dawn, May 9th, 2019