‘Sindh govt taking steps to reduce number of out-of-school children’

The Government of Sindh has taken urgent measures to reduce the number of out-of-school children and is making possible the implementation of the Sindh Rights of Children’s Free Education Act, 2013.

A spokesman for the Sindh government, Sukhdev Assardas Hemnani, has said that the government is actively working to address the issue of out-of-school children in the province in order to ensure that every child of the province has access to the right to education.

Hemnani shared that implementing articles 25A and 37B of the Constitution, Sindh introduced “Sindh Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2013” under which, free education is provided to children until 16 years of age in public schools. Not only are the schools free of charges, but the government is also providing textbooks, stationery, schoolbags and uniforms totally free of cost, he added.

The spokesperson stated that while the number of out-of-school children in the country is exponentially high, the government has established several programmes to cater to the children education.

The government recognizes that the education challenge faced by the province cannot be met through the formal school system alone, and therefore a non-formal education policy and measures have been adopted in a bid to mainstream out-of-school children.

He highlighted that the government is setting up 3,000 non-formal education centers across the province, with 100 centers in each district, which will provide both education and vocational training to children who have dropped out of school. These centers will not only help the children attain education but also equip them with skills to earn a living in future.

Moreover, taking cognizance of the high ratio of dropouts from primary schools, the Sindh government has decided to start evening classes in primary schools, which will later be upgraded to the middle school level to reduce the dropout rate.

The spokesperson further said that Sindh has already taken many significant initiatives to make the education sector efficient, including development of a teaching licence policy, recruitment of 60,000 teachers purely on merit, recruitment of music teachers in primary and middle public schools, curriculum reforms. The Sindh government is working diligently to ensure that the children have access to quality education without any discrimination or barriers.