SUKKUR, Sept 29: An amount of Rs70 million has been allocated for the year 2002-3, under the Annual Development Programme, for nine new schemes under the Education For All (EFA) programme, recently launched by the government.

The EFA programme would be completed at an estimated cost of Rs700 million in several phases, till the year 2006.

This was stated by the Additional Secretary, education, Sindh, Anwar Ahmed Zai, at a press briefing here on Friday.

He said that the EFA programme included the promotion of compulsory education, cultural and scientific exhibitions, sports, early childhood education, governance, special education, rehabilitation of historical buildings, support to private schools and Madressahs, quality assurance resource centres and decentralisation of elementary education.

Giving the details of the spending for the financial year 2002-3, in the 13 districts of Sindh, he said Rs1,000 million had been spent so far on the distribution of free textbooks among the students at primary level, scholarships for girls of class VI to VIII, school management committees and on the awareness campaigns.