Ministers trash report on state of education in Sindh

The report was slammed as "one-sided" and claimed that it undermines the education standards in Sindh.

KARACHI:

Sindh Education Minister Syed Sardar Ali Shah and Universities and Boards Minister Muhammad Ali Malkani have expressed strong reservations on the Planning Commission of Pakistan's District Education Program Index Report. They slammed the report as "one-sided" and claimed that it undermines the education standards in Sindh.

While speaking at a joint press conference on Wednesday, the two ministers said that federal institutions are operating as "desk analysts" without understanding the ground realities. "While the report suggests schools in Sindh are in dilapidated condition, the province has already acknowledged that 20,000 schools had been affected by heavy rains and floods," Shah said.

He added that the natural disasters have badly impacted educational infrastructure in the province, a situation even assessed by the UN secretary general. "The report unfairly includes the damage from floods as part of the performance evaluation," he said labeling the evaluation as "baseless."

The education minister defended Sindh's educational efforts, saying that the province's curriculum has received praise from UNICEF for its comprehensiveness compared to the national curriculum.