SINDH'S EDUCATIONAL SANDS

PAKISTAN : PUBLIC EDUCATION SECTOR suffers from inept policies, lack of funding and insufficient oversight. What has Sindh government to say?

At The World Students Society, we avail ourselves of great honor to request Mr. Ali Jaffar Zaidi, Lawrence College, a scion of a great Teaching family, to watch Sindh for us right up to the Global Elections.

IN the days ahead, we hope cover Mr. Ali Jaffar Zaidi's outstanding contribution to the cause of education, employment and fight against poverty.

In Sindh, an annual census report of the education department has found that some 5,000 schools have been shut down since 2012. These include schools across all levels -elementary, secondary and higher secondary.

Soon after taking charge, Sindh Chief Minster Syed Murad Ali Shah had declared an education emergency in July 2016. Ground realities show that the announcement as meant as a mere publicity  stunt.

WE SEE that no plan was devised to ensure effective implementation of emergency measures, states the editor of a highly respected newspaper, and adds that perhaps-

The most striking deficiency was a lack of devolution of powers in the district and sub-district levels and no accountability of government officers responsible for regulating schools.

Although 2,000 schools have since been reopened, there is absolutely no evidence of improvements  either in schools and infrastructure or in learning outcomes,

THE FATE of the education emergency proves that ad-hoc measures will not bode well for public sector education. It will be wiser to invest in teachers-training programmes, and establish a coherent policy with-

Objectively verifiable goals for fixing the long standing problems of the sector. An outcome-based policy to be should be formed with an aim to equip students with critical thinking skills from an early age.

FOR the education emergency to be effective, Sindh government should ensure that it revises the  curricula to promote pluralism and respect for religious diversity among its pupils