Sindh to fill schools with 250k children

Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah on Sunday ordered a province-wide enrolment campaign to bring around 250,000 children into schools as 838 newly constructed, upgraded and rehabilitated schools near completion.

Chairing a review meeting on Education Management Organisations (EMOs) at his office, CM Shah directed the School Education Department, district administrations and EMOs to launch a large-scale public outreach campaign so that every new or rehabilitated school becomes fully operational from the first day of its opening.

The chief minister said the government had made substantial investments in expanding educational infrastructure across Sindh, but the real measure of success would be the number of children enrolled and retained in the education system.

Education Minister Syed Sardar Ali Shah told the meeting that 838 schools were being constructed, upgraded or rehabilitated under the Asian Development Bank-supported Sindh Secondary Education Improvement Project (SSEIP). The programme includes 116 new secondary schools and 722 climate-resilient schools being reconstructed under the flood rehabilitation component.

The projects are expected to create educational opportunities for around 250,000 children, including more than 221,000 students in flood-affected districts and over 28,000 students in newly upgraded secondary schools.

CM Shah directed the education department to prepare district-level enrolment plans well before completion of the schools and involve elected representatives, local leaders, school management committees, parents, community organisations and EMOs in the campaign.

"We need to identify out-of-school children, reach out to families and ensure that every child living in the catchment areas of these schools is enrolled," the chief minister said.

He said investment in educational infrastructure should translate into higher literacy, particularly among girls and children living in areas where access to quality education remained limited.

"Our objective is not simply to construct school buildings. We must ensure that every classroom is filled with enthusiastic children ready to learn," CM Shah said, adding that the new schools had the potential to bring nearly a quarter of a million children into the education system.

The education minister told the meeting that 257 schools were scheduled for completion by December 2026, while the number would rise to 611 by June 2027. The remaining schools were targeted for completion by the end of 2027.

Of the 116 schools under the original SSEIP project, 64 secondary schools are expected to be completed by December 2026 and the remaining 52 by June 2027.

The chief minister also directed the School Education Department to set measurable targets for enrolment, student retention and educational outcomes and submit a comprehensive operational plan for each school before its completion.

The government is prioritising educationally deprived districts and girls' education, with the new schools featuring science and computer laboratories, digital libraries, solar power systems, common rooms for girls and other student facilities.