5,314 flood-damaged schools under reconstruction, education restored for 1.4m students, says Murad Ali Shah

KARACHI, Mar 23 (APP): Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah has disclosed that while the 2022 floods damaged 19,808 schools across the province, the government is reconstructing and repairing 5,314 of them under provincial, federal and donor-funded programmes, restoring educational facilities for more than 1.4 million students.

The meeting, held at CM House, reviewed the progress of school reconstruction and rehabilitation. It was attended by Education Minister Syed Sardar Shah, Chief Secretary Asif Hyder Shah, Secretary School Education Zahid Abbasi, Secretary to CM Asif Jameel, and other senior officials, said a news release on Monday.

Education Minister Syed Sardar Shah informed the chief minister that 19,808 schools across Sindh were damaged during the 2022 floods. Of these, 5,465 schools have been taken up for reconstruction and rehabilitation, including 2,268 completely damaged and 3,197 partially damaged institutions. However, 14,343 schools are still awaiting restoration.

The CM was informed that ongoing initiatives are being implemented under provincial, federal, and donor-funded programmes. According to official data, 5,369 schools have been included in major reconstruction schemes costing Rs167 billion, of which Rs63.95 billion has already been spent, while 2,114 schools have been completed under various funding arrangements.

Under the Provincial Annual Development Programme (ADP), work has begun on 2,405 schools, with 617 completed so far, while the remaining projects are expected to continue until June 2027. The Maintenance and Repair (M&R) Programme (2022–23 and 2024–25) has successfully rehabilitated 938 schools, all of which have been completed.

Large-scale reconstruction is also underway under the Sindh School Education Investment Programme – Flood-Affected Component (SSEIP-FA), which targets 805 schools, with completion expected by June 2027.

Similarly, the Federal Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) covers 481 fully damaged schools, of which 37 have been completed. The project is scheduled for completion by December 2026.

Development partners are also supporting the rehabilitation process. Under EU–UNICEF support, 173 schools have already been rehabilitated, while projects such as DEEP, SELECT, ASPIRE, SID, and JICA-supported interventions are collectively rebuilding hundreds of additional schools across the province.

The CM also reviewed division-wise data on flood-damaged schools. Hyderabad Division reported the highest number of affected institutions with 1,254 schools, followed by Larkana Division with 1,218, Sukkur Division with 1,070, Shaheed Benazirabad Division with 894, Mirpurkhas Division with 724, and Karachi Division with 305.

Among districts, Khairpur (730 schools), Naushehro Feroze (494), Larkana (343), Kambar-Shahdadkot (294), Mirpurkhas (277), and Umerkot (238) were reported among the most affected.

The chief minister emphasised that district-level data would guide resource allocation to ensure equitable and need-based reconstruction across all regions. “Every damaged school represents disrupted education for our children. We must ensure swift reconstruction so that learning activities are fully restored across Sindh,” he said.

Murad Ali Shah directed the School Education & Literacy Department to prioritise high-impact districts, speed up rehabilitation works, and ensure that all ongoing and planned projects are completed within the stipulated timelines.

The meeting concluded with a commitment to adopt a data-driven and transparent approach to rebuilding resilient school infrastructure across the province, with most reconstruction efforts expected to be completed by mid-2027.