KARACHI  -  Education Minister Syed Sardar Ali Shah has said that despite the federal government’s announcement of an education emergency, nothing substantial has emerged about the collaboration with the provinces to improve education.

Speaking to the media after attending a ceremony organised by the Sindh Education Foundation (SEF) at a local hotel, he said that no consultation was done with them before the education emergency was announced. He said the federal government should consult with all provinces regarding the issue of out-of-school children. “It is surprising that the federal government has decided on an education emergency, yet there is no clear policy for the 26 million out-of-school children in the country,” he said.

He mentioned that due to heavy rains, 20,000 schools in Sindh had been affected, and two million children were forced to study in challenging conditions, with school buildings no longer fit for sitting.

Sardar Shah says 319 non-functional schools reactivated under Sindh govt’s school adoption plan

He urged the federal government to consider the children of Sindh as “children of the nation” and play its role in the restoration of the flood-affected schools. He expressed hope that the “promises” made by the federal government for the restoration of schools damaged by the rains would be fulfilled soon.

Earlier, the SEF organised a ceremony to honour those who had taken the responsibility of reactivating non-functional government schools under the Sindh government’s ‘Adopt a School Programme’.

School Education Secretary Zahid Ali Abbasi, SEF Managing Director Qazi Kabir, former Sindh governor retired Lt Genl Moinuddin Haider, teachers and students were present.

During the ceremony, the education minister said: “We admire those who have not only adopted the schools but have also adopted our shortcomings, which we view with high regard. Adopting a school is akin to a mother’s care, taking on the noble responsibility of educating the nation’s children”.

He highlighted that due to the adoption policy, 319 schools had been reactivated and 125,000 children were receiving education.

For the first time, he said he had written letter to lawmakers, asking them to take responsibility for at least three schools in their constituencies. “We must also keep an eye on the schools that are functioning,” he added. Speaking on the occasion, Secretary Abbasi said that Sindh was the first province to introduce a school adoption policy, which had yielded clear benefits.

He added that Sindh had led many initiatives for the development of education, and those who come forward to adopt schools were driven by a spirit of service. These individuals deserve high praise.

Mr Kabir mentioned that many schools can be improved through this policy, and those who adopted the school should be appreciated at every level so that more people can join this noble cause.

He shared that the SEF, in collaboration with the Sindh government, had launched the “Adopt a School Programme” in 1998. “Over 100 people are responsibly managing 319 non-functional government schools across Sindh, which is the result of the vision of SEF founder Prof Dr Anita Ghulam Ali and the serious efforts of the Sindh government to advance education,” he added. Later, the education minister inspected the models presented by the students of the adopted schools and interacted with them to gain insights.