SHC seeks district-wise data of public school students recently enrolled

The Sindh High Court (SHC) has directed the chief secretary to submit district-wise breakdown of the students who have recently been enrolled at government schools in various districts of the province. The order came on identical petitions seeking the implementation of the laws concerning education, orphanages and child protection.

Filing a compliance report in court, the CS said that a campaign has been under way to boost the enrolment of students at public schools across the province. He said that 300,000 new students have recently been enrolled in various districts.

An SHC division bench headed by Justice Yousuf Ali Sayeed directed the CS to submit district-wise break-up of the enrolments, mentioning the names and child registration (B-form) number of each student, along with their school enrolment number and the name of the institution where they have been enrolled.

The CS said that 14 new schools have been opened, while more schools are also ready to be opened, for which a recruitment process is also being started so that more schoolteachers can be hired.

The bench directed the CS to place on record the relevant details of the schools, including the name, location and grade/status of each of the 14 institutions.

The court also directed the CS to place on record the relevant particulars of the 189 schoolteachers who were removed from service after being found to be delinquent.

The education secretary said that a mobile app has been developed as a pilot project in seven districts of the province, and it will be launched on January 15 to ensure the attendance of schoolteachers. He said the app will geotag 9,112 schools and 32,553 teachers.

The director general of the Sindh Child Protection Authority (SCPA) said that a child helpline 1121 has been established by them, and it is operational 24/7.

He said the helpline is connected will all the 30 Sindh districts and provides a quick referral mechanism if any violation of children’s rights is reported from any part of the province. He added that the helpline has also been integrated with the Pakistan emergency number 911.

Regarding the anti-beggary campaign launched in District South of Karachi, the DG said that 36 children have been rescued to date, and they are presently accommodated at the shelter home in District Malir.

He said that their cases would be processed and dealt with in accordance with the law, and that the campaign would be continued and extended. The bench directed him to file the relevant particulars with regard to street children.

On the overall position of shelter homes in the province, the CS said that efforts are being made with the participation of private sector organisations to use the facilities being operated by such NGOs.

He said that efforts are also under way to ensure the registration of such organisations and the facilities to ensure that they are properly regulated in accordance with the law. The bench directed the relevant officers to submit their progress reports by January 13.

The court had earlier directed the CS to submit concrete and definite proposals for ensuring that children of school-going age who were not enrolled or attending schools were brought into the school system, and ensuring the implementation of the Sindh Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act and the SCPA Act.

The education department had informed the court that 4,351,148 students (2,694,245 boys and 1,656,903 girls) were enrolled at 40,796 public schools of the province, while 3,044,260 were enrolled at private institutions.

The education department had submitted that 44,219 schools had been established in different districts on the basis of requirements of specific areas, 6,407 schools were without shelter, and the department had also notified a policy for the schools without shelter.

The education department had also told the court that according to the data received from the home department, 649,044 students were currently enrolled at different madrasas.

Rights activists and organisations had filed petitions seeking the implementation of the 2013 law that made it incumbent on the government to ensure free and compulsory education of children from the age of five to 16 years old.

They also sought the implementation of the SCPA Act and the orphanages law. They said that the city had thousands of street children, while several of them were being used in crimes, begging and other anti-social activities.