• Govt allocates Rs497.8bn for School, College and University and Board Departments in 2026-27, down from Rs523.73bn last year
• Rs5bn set aside for free textbooks: allocation for the SHEC raised from Rs42.29bn to Rs45.8bn

KARACHI: The budgetary provision for the education sector in Sindh for fiscal year 2026-27 has been proposed at Rs497.789 billion, down from last year’s education budget of Rs523.73bn.

The provincial government has proposed Rs446.958bn for the School Education Department, including primary, middle, secondary and higher secondary education; followed by Rs41.414bn allocated for the College Education Department and Rs9.417bn for the Universities and Boards Department.

Though the total budgetary provision may look less than last year’s, in the FY of 2026-27, the School Specific Budget Allocation has actually been enhanced from Rs18.67bn to Rs22.64bn, reflecting a 21 per cent increase. This includes a 100 per cent increase for furniture and fixtures, rising from Rs3.81bn to Rs7.62bn.

Following the devastating floods of 2022, a significant number of Sindh’s public schools were damaged. The scale of the disaster underscored the urgent need for resilient educational infrastructure.

In response, the Sindh government embarked on a comprehensive reconstruction and rehabilitation drive aimed at restoring damaged schools. Complementing ongoing development initiatives, dedicated budgetary provisions have been made for the restoration of the flood-affected schools.

In this regard, an amount of Rs234.903 million has been earmarked in the Budget Estimates 2026-27 for the restoration of flood-damaged schools. Additionally, Rs803.22m has been allocated for activities under the European Union-funded DEEP Project to support the rehabilitation and restoration of flood-affected schools, accelerating recovery and enhancing the resilience of education infrastructure across the province.

‘Education is powerful instrument for human development’

While presenting the Sindh budget for the new financial year on Wednesday, Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah said that education remains the most powerful instrument for social mobility, economic growth and human development.

Highlighting the Sindh government’s work for education during the FY 2025-26, he said they continued with their “unprecedented investment in education to improve access, quality and learning outcomes across the province”.

To scale up and strengthen initiatives in Integrating Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics (STEAM) into the curriculum, Rs100m has been allocated to scale up and strengthen initiatives that promote practical, hands-on learning that fosters innovation, critical thinking and digital literacy.

Addressing the challenge of out-of-school children, the government is implementing structural reforms, expanding non-formal education initiatives and strengthening public-private partnerships to enhance enrollment and retention, with a focus on operationalising non-formal education centres in the districts to reduce the out-of-school children rate.

Aligned with the 2026 Unesco Global Education Monitoring (GEM) Report, “Access and equity: countdown to 2030,” these efforts reinforce progress toward Sustainable Development Goal 4. Therefore, for 2026-27, Rs1.5bn has been earmarked to expand these efforts further.

The government has also allocated Rs5bn in 2026-27 for the distribution of free textbooks to all students of government schools, from pre-primary classes to class 10, along with Rs850m for reimbursement to the Sindh Textbook Board to support the supply of free textbooks to the Sindh Education Foundation (SEF), covering both public and SEF-assisted schools.

SEF and Teach the World Foundation have launched an accelerated digital learning programme for out-of-school children in Sindh, aimed at enhancing access to quality education and strengthening inclusive learning opportunities across the region.

To further expand educational access, funds amounting to Rs16.46bn have been allocated in Budget Estimates for 2026-27.

For FY 2026-27, grant to Sindh Technical Education & Vocational Training Authority (Stevta) has been increased to Rs3,515.18m as compared to Rs2,550m in 2025-26.

For the upcoming fiscal year, the budget for college education has been proposed at Rs41.4bn. Additionally, Rs187m under Employee Related Expenditure (ERE) was provided to 37 colleges to cover the shortfall of 172 teaching positions in colleges of Mirpurkhas and Hyderabad during the current FY of 2025-26. This provision has also been adopted in the 2026-27 budget estimate.

Furthermore, Rs1.3bn has been allocated for 13 Cadet Colleges in Sindh under the budget estimate of 2026-27, while Rs120m is to be disbursed as regular grants-in-aid to four community colleges in Sindh during 2026-27.

The Sindh government is also providing scholarships to several students through Sindh Education Endowment Fund Trust.

A total allocation of Rs500m was made during 2025-26 for the award of scholarships to deserving students of Sindh pursuing higher education at foreign universities. During 2025-26, Rs115m was released under the Oxford Pakistan Programme to support six students. The remaining Rs385 million has been carried forward and included in the budget estimates for 2026-27 to continue supporting scholarship opportunities for deserving students of the province in foreign universities.

The Universities and Boards Department has been allocated a total budget of Rs9.4bn, reflecting continued investment in higher education and examination systems.

The grant-in-aid amounting to Rs6.8bn has been allocated in the budget estimates for 2026-27, on account of Registration, Enrollment, and annual examination fees for classes nine to 12 across seven educational boards.

In addition, budgetary allocation for the Sindh Higher Education Commission (SHEC) has been increased from Rs42.29bn to Rs45.80bn, reflecting expanded support for the growth of the higher education sector.

Out of which, an allocation of Rs44.46bn has been made for 32 public sector universities, their campuses, study centres, and other higher education institutions.

Furthermore, 11 new campuses, centres, and institutions of the University of Karachi and the University of Sindh have been separately included in the budget, reflecting the continued expansion of higher education infrastructure across the province.

Published in Dawn, June 18th, 2026