Voicing concerns: Sindh Education Foundation schools struggle to survive after funding squeeze

"The government has only released 25 per cent of the government allocated funds" explained Kabani.

KARACHI:

With the financial year approaching its end, the Sindh Education Foundation's (SEF) has failed to provide subsidies and educational material to its 1,300 partner schools in the Integrated Learning Education Programme (IELP). The scheme aimed to establish and operate educational facilities in the most underserved areas of the province.

Badly hit by financial constraints, around 100 Karachi-based SEF school operators staged a protest outside the Karachi Press Club on Sunday, demanding the government to save the future of over 200,000 students enrolled at these schools.



The foundation, in collaboration with the provincial education department, had launched the education programme in 2009, encouraging entrepreneurs to open schools in slums across the province under public-private partnership.

Under the contract, the 1,300 partner schools receive a total of Rs250 million in each financial quarter through the foundation; the responsible body under the IELP to disburse the government funds.

In addition, the foundation is also responsible to provide the schools with learning and other school-related material which includes books, stationery, school bags, wall charts and uniforms.

"After toiling for three years to make our schools successful, uncertainty surrounds the future of students as the entrepreneurs have not received any funds for the last 12 months," said Ali Hussain, one such entrepreneur who was among the protesters. "Each month, we are bearing expenses between Rs70,000 and Rs90,000 out of our own pockets, because we do not want to do away with this project."

Jan Muhammad Soomro, the general secretary of the IELP School Owners' Association, explained that the entrepreneurs had rented the buildings for a period of five to 10 years and constructed rooms and washrooms as per the SEF requirements.

When contacted, the SEF's programmes and operations director, Aziz Kabani, told The Express Tribune that the foundation itself is dependent on government funds to continue its operations.

"The government has only released 25 per cent of the government allocated funds, which is equivalent to the subsidy of one financial quarter," explained Kabani. "While another 25 percent is likely to be received in a week time, the foundation will try its best to get the remaining 50 per cent of the funds before the financial year ends."

Published in The Express Tribune, June 2^nd, 2014.