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KARACHI, Jan 20 (APP):Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah on Monday expressed concerns regarding the 46 per cent dropout rate among students who complete their primary education due to the lack of middle schools in the area, therefore, he directed the school education department to introduce afternoon shifts for middle school classes at primary schools, aiming to address this problem.
The meeting was held at CM House, with Minister of Education Syed Sardar Shah, Chief Secretary Asif Hyder Shah, PSCM Agha Wasif, Secretary of School Education Zahid Abbasi, Chairman of P&D Najma Shah, Secretary of Finance Fayaz Jatoi, Secretary of Colleges Asif Ikram, and other concerned officers in attendance.
Minister of Education Syed Sardar Shah and Secretary of School Education Zahid Abbasi briefed the Chief Minister and reported that there are 16.89 million children aged five to 16 enrolled in the province, which includes 5.20 million in public schools and 4.01 million in private schools. Additionally, schools under the Sindh Education Foundation have 93,000 students, non-formal education serves 5.66 million children, and madrasas have 1.03 million students.
During the discussion, the Chief Minister pointed out two major challenges facing the School Education Department, enrolling 7.8 million out-of-school children and reducing the dropout rate, which currently stands at 46 per cent.
He emphasised that these two challenges could only be addressed by strengthening both formal and non-formal education streams in terms of access, quality, and governance.
To a question, the CM was informed that there were 36300 primary schools and 4,600 post-primary/middle schools. The significant gap between the number of primary and post-primary schools contributes to the dropout rate.
Shah directed the education department to initiate post-primary schools during the second shift/afternoon shift in primary schools, with plans to upgrade them to the middle school level.
Murad Shah instructed the education department to convert the Sindh Textbook Board (STBB) into a company, restricting its role to book publication and distribution only. The responsibility for textbook development will be transferred to the Directorate of Curriculum, Assessment, and Research (DCCAR).
The Chief Minister also directed the Minister of Education to reform DCCAR by converting technical positions to market-based roles, bringing in efficient technical human resources.
He emphasized that private schools are significant stakeholders, catering to 40% of enrollment, and therefore must be properly regulated, monitored, and evaluated.
Murad Shah approved the creation of inspector positions within the Directorate of Private Schools to ensure effective monitoring and evaluation, including the implementation of a 10% freeship policy in private schools and proper inspections.