Proposal to establish Sindh Curriculum Authority also green-lit
Sindh’s chief minister has ordered hiring 6,000 teachers to reopen 2,000 schools across the province as well as green-lit the proposal to set up a curriculum authority at provincial level.
The decisions were taken on Wednesday during a meeting on education at the CM House that was chaired by the chief executive, Syed Murad Ali Shah, and attended by Education Minister Jam Mehtab Dahar, Education Secretary Syed Jamal Shah and Additional Education Secretary Nawaz Sohu among others.
The education secretary informed the CM that 5,384 schools across the province were closed and it was feasible for 4,123 of them to be reopened. In the light of an education emergency imposed by the chief minister 1,461 schools have already been reopened.
In response to the educations secretary’s information, the CM set a target of reopening 2,000 schools by the end of March and allowed the education department to recruit 6,000 teachers for making it possible.
“The recruitment must be on the basis of merit,” he ordered. “There will be no compromise on it.” He advised to carry out the recruitment through the Sukkur Institute of Business Administration (IBA).
“I want to visit these schools opened by the end of March,” he added, “so that a new target to improve the education system in the province could be set.”
On the subject of curriculum, CM Shah said he had gone through the textbooks of different classes from the primary to the middle level. “I’m sorry to say but I’m not satisfied with the content and quality.”
He told the meeting that the curriculum must be in accordance with the latest requirements and standards, and approved establishing the Sindh Curriculum Authority to redesign the curriculum.
He emphasised keeping in view the standards practised in other provinces and countries such as Sri Lanka before training instructors to teach the new curriculum.
“There is a dire need to redesign the curriculum,” he said, “and teaching skills must be based on the latest trends and techniques practised in other countries. Education is the only key to success.”
The meeting observed that some schools were overstaffed while others were short of the required number of teachers. On this the CM banned transfers and postings of teachers and directed the education minister to ensure justification of transfers before being conducted.
“You have to rationalise school-specific requirement of teachers,” he told the meeting, “and utilise extra staff where their services are required.”
The education minister informed the chief executive that he regularly visited schools so that educational activities could be improved. He said he had worked out a policy for transfers and postings and would send it to the CM for approval.
The chief minister expressed satisfaction over the efforts of the education department to reopen 1,261 schools and directed them to improve the basic facilities at all the institutions.
“I have personally seen that most of the schools lack basic facilities such as washrooms, compound walls, water supply, hand pumps, etc,” he told the meeting.
“Their availability must be ensured through funds under the ‘missing facilities’ programme. Only reopening a school is not enough; we have to develop a proper educational atmosphere for the benefit of students as well as teachers.”
He said he was working to establish a state-of-the-art academy for teachers so that they could be provided up-to-the-minute training based on new teaching techniques, communication skills and educational psychology.
He directed the education minister to prepare a detailed report on the repair and maintenance of school buildings, and figures of enrolment, dropout and out-of-school children so that an appropriate strategy could be evolved.
During the meeting CM Shah approved a summary of the education department to recruit 977 headmasters through the Sukkur IBA. The headmasters would be posted in schools being reopened.
The meeting was also attended by Chief Secretary Rizwan Memon, Principal Secretary Naveed Kamran Baloch, Additional Chief Secretary (Development) Muhammad Waseem and Finance Secretary Hassan Naqvi.