KARACHI, Nov 4: President General Pervez Musharraf expressed his dissatisfaction over the performance of the education sector in Sindh and directed the authorities concerned to take practical steps for its improvement.

The president observed that Sindh was not keeping pace with the advancements in the field of education and stressed the need to impart standard education from the grassroots level in the province.

He was presiding over a meeting on education, infrastructure development, and ongoing development projects in Sindh here at the Chief Minister’s House here on Saturday.

According to sources privy to the meeting, the president appeared to be virtually unhappy over the performance of the provincial education department and asked the authorities concerned to learn a lesson from Punjab vis-à-vis education reforms.

"There is no need of theory. I want you to take practical steps", Musharraf was quoted as saying by sources.

The president was informed that free primary education would be provided to 1.6 million children. He was told that out of 35 students enrolled in Class-I, only 12 students were able to reach Class-10 and efforts were under way to raise the ratio.

The president was also informed that more than 0.3 million children started to go to school and Rs2.32 billion were being provided to the district governments to improve the condition of schools in the province.

On the occasion, the president assured that the federal government would extend all-out support for the improvement of the education sector in the province.

President Musharraf mentioned that the government had already increased budget allocation for the education sector especially Information Technology and called for opening up of technical colleges and universities so as to help produce trained manpower.

The president also pointed towards the conversion of the Marine Academy in Karachi into engineering university, which would be imparting education in accordance with the international standards as well as syllabus.

General Musharraf said that faculty members for this institution would also be hired from abroad.

The president was informed that the Sindh government had prepared an Education Sector Policy Framework, supported by many partners especially the World Bank.

This framework covers school education reforms for the period 2006-09 and it addresses governance and sector management issues, improving access to quality education and improving teaching quality and learning

Speaking on the occasion, the president directed the authorities concerned to complete all the ongoing mega projects on time to improve the living standards of the masses and said that no leniency would be tolerated in this regard.

The president, sources said, also asked the chief minister to "show" the video films of the construction work of various mega projects worth Rs108 billion carried out by the provincial government in various districts.

The president also emphasised that the Lyari Expressway and the Northern Bypass projects should be completed without any further delay and called for the completion of the RDOB Phase II and Rain Canal project.

President Musharraf said that the projects relating to the agro-based industries, cattle and dairy farming be prepared so as to help generate economic activity and to create employment opportunities.

During a briefing on electricity by Wapda, General Musharraf said that the village electrification programme in the province should be expedited.

Sindh Governor Ishratul Ibad, Chief Minister Arbab Rahim, Federal Industries Minister Jehangir Tareen, Sindh Irrigation Minister Nadir Akmal, Education Minister Hamida Khuhro, City Nazim Mustafa Kamal and others attended the meeting.—Agencies