Ilmi & Sitarey

Recently, the Sindh government has launched ‘Ilmi & Sitarey’ – a SMS service that can be used to highlight issues related to education in Sindh. Matters such as ghost teachers or ghost schools, etc, can now be brought to the notice of the authorities concerned through this service. Just like other initiatives of the provincial government, I was sceptical with regard to the credibility of this service.
Being a stakeholder of the public education system, I thought I should experience the service myself. I typed Ilmi and sent it to 8398. I received a message, “Welcome to texting with Ilmi! Talk to me & get help with school, share stories, get tips, participate in quizzes and be a Sitara.” I was amazed with the speed of the response and kept asking different academic and non-academic questions which were catered to within no time. I was pleasantly surprised to see an educational initiative at the government level, especially in Sindh. In the current state of education, which I would describe as close to pathetic, such a service brings a ray of light to the otherwise dark and dead-ended road of education. This service, if used appropriately by the people of Sindh, could bring transformational change to the province.
Muhammad Murad
Jacobabad