‘Pakistan lags 50 years behind Europe in education sector’

We still lag 50 years behind European countries in the field of education and if we do not reform ourselves at this juncture of history, there may soon be a time when our students would not even be able to get admissions in reputed institutes of Europe, said Sindh Education Minister Jam Mehtab Hussain Dahar on Wednesday.

He held an open meeting at the Deputy Commissioner Office, Malir. Talking to media, he talked about the reforms he has taken in the education department. Dahar claimed that in the last two months, almost 1,500 closed schools had been reopened and remaining 2,500 closed schools would be reopened in a couple of months.    

“A rational policy has been adopted in transfer and posting of the school teachers and college lectures and it will enhance quality education and help reduce problems in institutions.”     

He announced Rs40 million for provision of missing facilities in schools of District Malir.

Dahar said the budget would be utilised before June and all deputy commissioners were being made project directors to monitor these development works. 

He was of the opinion that being the public representatives, all chairmen and vice chairmen if tge union councils were supposed to visit schools and colleges regularly and keep a vigilant eye on the performance of the teachers.     

The education minister said that every child of Sindh was like his own child. “I will be held responsible if a child in Sindh does not get proper schooling.”

Through the Sindh Education Foundation programme, he said, schools were being established in far-flung areas in the province and in these schools every child was getting Rs500 each month.

 “We must think in broader perspective for our future generations.” 

Earlier on Feb 8, the Sindh chief minister had 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 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.