Minister rejects out-of-school children figure

Says some quarters are cooking up numbers for financial gain

KARACHI:

Sindh Minister for Education and Culture Syed Sardar Ali Shah rejected the claim that six million children are out of school in the province.

He said the same statistic was higher in other provinces. “Inactive schools will be removed from the list before the recruitment of teachers.”

He expressed these views while speaking as a special guest on International Literacy Day which was organised by the Sindh Education Department at a local hotel.

Education Secretary Ghulam Akbar Leghari and other officers concerned attended the event. Panel discussions focused on girls’ education in Sindh and the issues faced in this regard.

Addressing the function, said he was aware of the challenges in the education sector, but was also confident in the abilities of his department. He said that he was also confident in the dedication of officers, teachers and officials who were committed to children’s education. The minister said that there is a need to increase literacy in society itself.

“Results cannot be achieved by hosting such programs in big hotels.”

Human resource and financial aid are available; so why children out of school? It is all because of a lack of commitment and dedication.

He said some quarters claimed that six million children were out of school, which, according to him, was untrue. Shah asserted that by making such claims, some education stakeholders can draw money from funding agencies.

Replying to a question, he said Punjab had the largest number of out-ofschool children. “In KhyberPakhtunkhwa too, three to four million children are out of school, while the figure of six million for Sindh is incorrect.