KARACHI, Dec 10: Sindh Minister for Education and Literacy Dr. Hamida Khuhro said on Friday that increasing level of poverty is causing inadequate food facilities to school going children and without providing them sufficient and required food, the educational development of a child cannot be achieved.

She was speaking at the prize distribution ceremony of an arts competition among 250 World Food Programme-funded schools in Karachi. The WFP is assisting the Sindh education department by providing edible oil to girl students of 500 government schools in Thatta, Hyderabad, Tharparkar and Badin districts.

Dr. Khuhro said even 75 per cent of the population of the country depends upon agriculture, but poverty is on the increase due to various reasons and people are not able to provide sufficient food to their children. She quoted the efforts of the government for strengthening the agriculture sector.

The minister appreciated the efforts of the WFP in education sector and said that the project of supply of edible oil to girl students of poverty-ridden areas is supporting in the enhancement of enrolment of female pupils by giving incentive to their parents, and it has also helped improve the health conditions of children.

She called for expansion of the programme in other districts and announced that the education department was also planning to provide various types of incentives to parents to reduce the dropout rate.

The minister appreciated the holding of the arts competitions and prize awards to children and said effort would continue to enhance the imagination and artistic qualities of girl students.

Later, the minister distributed awards and prizes among children producing good pictures. Ms Sadori Bhand of Dadu and Ms Samina Ali Murad Shaikh of Government Girls Primary School village Budho Shaikh Daro, district Dadu received first and second prize, respectively. The minister appreciated the pictorial and drawing work of children.

Talking to APP, WFP's country director, German Valdivia said that the UN's World food Programme is working for the promotion of primary education of girls in the most remote areas of Pakistan.

He pointed out that the WFP is utilizing food distribution which is a tin of oil as a tool to attract girls for getting enrolled in the schools. Valdivia informed that a child who attends school for at least 20 days in a month is entitled to receive a tin of oil.

He was of the view that for the family the tin of oil is like an income transfer around Rs 400 a month. It was pointed out that the WFP started working with the education sector in Sindh from the year 1998 in 225 schools.