KARACHI, Jan 13: The government of Sindh has decided to provide free textbooks, worth Rs150 million, to students of the state-owned primary schools throughout the province from next academic session, commencing from April 2002.

A meeting, presided over by provincial education minister, Prof Anita Ghulam Ali, was held in this regard recently, which was attended by education secretary Nazar Hussain Mahar, additional secretary of education, Prof Raees Alvi, and chairman, Sindh Textbook Board, Jamshoro, Khalid Hussain Soomro.

The meeting decided that the textbooks would be distributed at schools in the rural areas, where the state-owned primary schools are situated in Kutcha areas near towns.

All the District Coordination Officers and the Executive District Officers have been directed to provide the required number of books by January 15 so that the books are dispatched to their respective districts by March 15 to reach the students before commencement of the new academic session.

It has also been decided to entrust the responsibility of distribution of the books to the district governments to ensure reaching of books to the students.

The education department has already released Rs1 billion to the school management committees to acquire furniture, purchase laboratory equipment and for repair works in order to provide better education facilities in the state-owned schools.—PPI