KARACHI: The education authorities have deviated from their earlier claim about having enrolled 300,000 fresh students in public schools of the province and informed the Sindh High Court that the actual figure was over 245,227.

The SHC has directed the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) to appoint a functionary to inform it about children related measures after the Sindh Child Protection Authority submitted that it was developing a Child Protection Management Information System (CPMIS) with the support of Unicef.

The bench headed by Chief Justice Ahmed Ali M. Shaikh and Justice Yousuf Ali Sayeed was also informed that an anti-child beggary campaign had been intensified and 123 children picked up from different areas of the city and brought to a shelter home, where education and vocational training were being arranged for them.

The court asked the country head of Unicef to appoint any responsible functionary to attend the proceedings on Feb 17 to assist the court about development and deployment of CPMIS and related measures.

The bench was hearing a set of petitions mainly seeking implementation on the Sindh Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2013.

On the last hearing, the SHC had asked the education authorities to furnish details of 300,000 students, which they claimed to have been enrolled.

At the outset of the hearing, Education Secretary Ghulam Akbar Leghari filed a statement stating: “The data of newly enrolled children has been collected from field offices and compiled at provincial level. Whilst a figure of 300,000 had earlier been stated, it transpires that 245,227 students have been enrolled. The district-wise abstract of these newly enrolled students has been provided and further details of these students are contained in electronic form on USB,” it added.

Published in Dawn, February 7th, 2023