Sindh plans over 800,000 school admissions in current year

Sindh Education Minister Syed Sardar Ali Shah has announced that the target of increasing new admissions in Sindh in the current academic year is more than 800,000.

Speaking as a special guest in a programme organised by the Sindh Education Department at a private hotel in Karachi on Monday, he stated that it will be mandatory for headmasters to plant trees in schools, and this process will also be included in their duties.

Shah said a target of more than 800,000 has been set in Sindh this year to increase the enrolment ratio, while ensuring community involvement to make the school enrolment system more effective.

The programme was organised under the theme “Launch of Sindh Enrollment & Retention Drive 2024-25”. Sindh Secretary School Education, Unicef Pakistan Representative Abdullah Fadal, Chief Field Officer Unicef Prem Bahadur Chand, JICA K Abid Gill, Director Operations NCHD Humira Hashmi, Chief Programme Manager RSU Dr Junaid Samoon, district officers of the Education Department, and others participated.

Various proposals were presented for maintaining enrolment in schools in Sindh and increasing the numbers in this regard. Participation is very important. On this occasion, provincial minister Sardar Ali Shah said that this year a target has been set to increase school enrolment from 800,000 to 900,000 in Sindh.

He said the recruitment of teachers in Sindh has helped to meet the shortage of teachers, by which more than 7,000 schools have been opened and made functional. He pointed out that 5.2 million children are currently enrolled in government schools in Sindh, four million in private schools, 927,000 in Sindh Education Foundation schools, and 57,000 in non-formal education.

According to the constitution, it is the responsibility of the state to provide free education to children from 5 years to 16 years. At this time, there is a great need for social cooperation due to a lack of resources and other challenges. The enrolment drive is going to start in Sindh from August 16, and all resources will be used to make this process effective.

The education minister said that the duties of the headmaster will not only include running the school, but his responsibility will also be of involving the community, especially from the enrolment of children to the continuation of the educational process in collaboration with the parents.

He said that in this year’s enrolment drive, the school administration will also have the responsibility to plant trees in schools, and the process of planting trees in schools will also be included in the performance of the headmaster.

On this occasion, representatives of Unicef, JICA, and other partner organisations also expressed their views and presented their suggestions. Later, the scientific models exhibited by the students of various government schools were inspected by the education minister, who appreciated the performance of the students. In the event, international and other institutions working together with the Sindh Education Department appreciated the reforms in the Sindh Education Department.