KARACHI, March 16: The European Union will provide 59 million euros for the education sector in Pakistan over the next three years out of a total funding of 71 million euros, says the EU's ambassador to Pakistan, Likka Uusitalo.

In an interview with APP here on Tuesday, he said that of the amount to be spent on education, 39 million euros (approximately $45 million), would be earmarked for Sindh while 20 million euros will be spent in the Northern Areas.

"It is for the first time that we are coming up with such a large assistance to Sindh", he remarked further. The EU envoy said an exclusive programme is being prepared for the education sector in Sindh.

Likka Uusitalo said a proposal to this effect would be finalized within the current year and would be forwarded to the EU Headquarters in Brussels for approval so that it could be implemented in 2005.

The implementation period would span from three to five years but it would be defined later. The EU ambassador said that the main emphasis would be on the primary education, adding the money would cover all districts of Sindh.

Earlier, Likka Uusitalo attended the two-day Sindh Education Programme Round Table Consultation on March 15-16 organized by the government of Sindh in collaboration with the Asian Development Bank and the Unicef.

He said the consultation was very important as it was attended by major donors, the provincial government officials and the people from the district governments in the province.

He was of the view that it was not possible for any single donor to provide funds to cover everything, adding that it was also not possible for the government. "So we have to really know who is doing what and try to supplement each other's efforts".

He said that "very candid" discussions had taken place pertaining to schools, the quality of training and education as well as the quality of teachers and their low salaries.

"What we have to do now is that we know the problems so we have to find solutions", the EU ambassador said, adding that we really want to work together with the provincial as well as the district governments.

He said that the district governments had a key role to play in this regard after the devolution of powers. The envoy said donors would also like to know that the funds would be used in a prudent manner. -APP