Sindh cabinet approves amending law governing educational boards

A marathon Sindh cabinet meeting on Thursday chaired by Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah made several significant decisions in the education sector, including the recruitment of 195 teachers, creation of 700 more teaching positions and approval of amendments to the education board laws.

The cabinet also decided to operate 100 electric buses in Karachi on a rent-to-own basis. The provincial cabinet also urged the federal government to initiate the Flood Protection Plan IV on a 50-50 per cent cost-sharing basis.

Additionally, the CM directed the provincial education department to develop a transgender education policy and granted a tax exemption to the Sindh Revenue Board (SRB) fees for procurements for the K-IV water supply project.

Recruitment

The provincial cabinet was informed that to enhance the quality and standard of education, the Teaching Licence Policy was approved in 2023. Sindh is the first province in the country that introduced such a policy.

Following the policy introduction, a test was conducted in March 2024 through the third-party, Sukkur Institute of Business Administration, in which both pre-service (fresh candidates) and in-service teachers participated.

A rigorous assessment was carried out, with a total of 4,000 candidates taking the test. Only 646 candidates (195 fresh candidates and 451 in-service teachers) qualified by achieving high standards of 50 or more marks in both content and pedagogy sections.

The cabinet was informed that 700 new posts of elementary school teachers (EST) in grade 16 were created specifically for in-service and pre-service candidates holding teaching licences. The finance department, however, has only included 352 of these posts in the budget, leaving 348 posts yet to be formalised to accommodate all teaching licence holders.

The CM directed the finance department to formalise the remaining 348 posts. Regarding the 195 fresh teaching licence holders, the cabinet granted them a time exemption for the written test, referring them to the Sindh Public Service Commission (SPSC) for interviews for their appointments against the vacant EST (BPS-16) positions.

Education boards

The cabinet also discussed proposed amendments to the Sindh Boards of Intermediate and Secondary Education Bill -2024 and the Sindh Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education Ordinance 1972.

The proposed amendments include the inclusion of members from civil society, headmasters, and principal representatives in the boards. Under these amendments, the government will have the authority to remove any board member and would not allow any benefits, allowances or concessions to individuals working there.

The board chairmen would hold office for a term of three years from the date of their appointment and would be eligible for reappointment for additional specified periods. The chairmen would be appointed by the controlling authority through either a direct recruitment process to select a suitable candidate from the market or by transfer from among cadre officers of BPS-19/20, on terms and conditions determined by the authority.

Electric buses

The cabinet was informed that the National Energy & Transport Corporation (NETC) had submitted a proposal for a total of 8,000 electric buses that would be implemented in phases. In the first phase, 500 buses were planned for the first year, with 50 already operational.

The second phase would have the introduction of an additional 1,500 buses, and the third phase would see 4,000 to 6,000 buses deployed over the next four years, along with the development of charging infrastructure, depots and bus stations. A solar plant of up to 1 gigawatt was also expected to be completed by the end of the third phase.

On May 30, 2024, the proposal for a pilot project comprising 50 electric buses on a rent-to-own model was approved. Under this model, the NETC would procure and supply the buses at a specified cost per kilometre, covering a defined distance per annum.

The buses were currently operational on four major routes in Karachi and an independent expert had been appointed to monitor all aspects of the project, including technical, financial and legal considerations.

The cabinet approved a contract agreement between the Sindh Mass Transit Authority (SMTA) and NETC for the supply, construction, operation and maintenance of 100 electric buses on a rent-to-own basis.

The cabinet also allocated Rs412.50 million for the last quarter of the fiscal year (April-June 2025) and Rs 1.65 billion annually (for eight years) for monthly payments related to the 100 electric buses.

Flood plan

The Sindh cabinet urged the federal government to finance the Flood Protection Plan IV on a 50:50 per cent cost-sharing basis. The cabinet was informed that the federal water resources ministry had requested the Sindh government to comment on limiting federal financing to the federal entities' projects. Proposed federal financing had been capped at Rs77.533 billion, making up to 9.4 per cent of the total estimated cost of Rs824.5 billion of the plan.

Transgender education

Discussing the Sindh Transgender Education Policy, the CM emphasised the need for a policy free from all forms of discrimination. He noted that the transgender community in Pakistan had very limited access to education.

According to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics 2023 census report, the literacy rate of transgender individuals at the national level is 40.15 per cent, while in Sindh it is 34.16 per cent. In rural areas, the literacy rate drops to 19.52 per cent, compared to 42.42 per cent in urban areas.

Murad directed Education Minister Syed Sardar Shah to develop a policy for free and compulsory education for transgender persons, which would be submitted to the cabinet.

Tax exemption

The cabinet approved an exemption for the Water and Power Development Authority regarding the procurement and construction of the K-IV bulk water supply project, taking effect retroactively from 2021. However, the subcontractor was still required to pay the applicable taxes.

The cabinet also approved the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) and Sindh Revenue Board (SRB) concerning the integration of the FBR system with Point of Sale (POS) solutions in restaurants and other sectors.

Dhabeji SEZ

It was said that the Dhabeji Special Economic Zone (SEZ) was a priority project under the industrial cooperation phase of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), aimed at stimulating industrial growth in Sindh. The project was being executed under the public-private partnership model and had been 10.6 per cent completed.

The cabinet was informed that a request had been received from the Power China International, a state-owned enterprise designated by the National Development Reform Commission of China (NDRC), through the concessionaire M/s ZKBDMC, to sign an MoU to promote the Dhabeji SEZ and attract industry from China.

The cabinet approved the proposal and instructed the investment department to sign an MoU with the Chinese company.

Other decisions

The Sindh cabinet approved a 50:50 joint venture between the federal railways ministry and the Sindh government at a cost of Rs75 billion to lay a 105-kilometre-long railway line from Islamkot to Chhor.

Upon the request of the local government department, the Sindh cabinet approved a grant of Rs500 million for the clearance of outstanding payments related to pensions, salaries, service benefits and other ancillary matters for employees of the Hyderabad Development Authority.