100 community schools get solar power boost

KARACHI:

In a bid to keep classrooms running despite persistent power shortages, Federal Education Minister Dr Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui has distributed solar panels among 100 Basic Education Community Schools in Karachi, pledging to extend the initiative to Hyderabad, Mirpurkhas and Tando Allahyar.

The distribution ceremony was held at Liaquat Memorial Library, where Siddiqui, who also chairs the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P), attended as chief guest alongside Director General Basic Education Community Schools Hameed Khan Niazi and other education officials.

Siddiqui said the government was confronting a mindset that not only denied itself education but also sought to deprive others of the opportunity to learn. He pledged to expand the community schools network from Karachi to interior Sindh, adding that students would receive vocational skills alongside education.

He said electricity shortages had emerged as a major obstacle after discussions with teachers revealed the difficulties faced by children from impoverished backgrounds. The 100 schools had been established without purchasing new buildings, while the solar initiative was launched to ensure students could continue learning without disruption.

Siddiqui also appealed to philanthropists to support education in the city's vast informal settlements and urged welfare organisations to provide breakfast to underprivileged schoolchildren rather than limiting their food assistance to roadside distributions.

Niazi said around 5,000 students were enrolled in the 100 schools and that teachers had received professional training, including orientation and Khan Academy programmes.