Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah presiding over a meeting of the school education department said that apart from other sectors he is prioritising improving school education.

“We are committed to improving the educational atmosphere in the classroom and keep making the teacher properly trained so that a well-educated new generation can be produced,” he said while presiding over a meeting of the School Education Department here at CM House.

Minister Education Syed Sardar Shah, Secretary Education Zahid Abbasi, Secretary Finance Fayaz Jatoi, Secretary to CM Raheem Shaikh, Director HR School Education Kishore Kumar and others.

Minister Education Sardar Shah briefing the CM said that of 43027 schools, 19,808 have been damaged by recent heavy floods. “Even then we are running the classes under a makeshift arrangement,” he said, adding that these school buildings needed to be repaired at the earliest. At this, the CM said that reconstruction of all the damaged schools would be carried out with the support of the donor agencies and the federal government during the next financial year.

Syed Sardar Shah told the CM that the attendance of the teachers in schools had been ensured through the biometric system. At this, the CM said that the teachers’ teaching, and communication skills must be strengthened through the best training. “I want the education department to strengthen Teachers Training further,” he said.

Murad Ali Shah appreciated teachers’ selection purely on merit. He directed the Minister of Education to work out a plan to develop a teacher’s complete data right from his appointment to transfer/postings, training, and promotions. “We must have a full track record so that devoted and hardworking teachers can be promoted.

The meeting also decided to develop data on the students right from pre-primary to primary and then to secondary and higher secondary based on their B-form so that their complete record could be mutinied. “The figures of the school-going children and out of school are not accurate, therefore we must have credible data to incentivise education to discourage drop out,” he said.

The chief minister was told around 30,000 positions of teachers of different grades and cadres were lying vacant in the school education department. At this, the CM directed the education department to send him recommendations so that vacant posts could be created in the next budget.

The meeting decided that the Science Labs, libraries, and workshops already established in the high schools would be upgraded and inspected by the DEOs regularly. “The upgraded schools (primary to elementary) would also be provided with the facilities of Science Lab, Library and workshops,” the CM said and directed the education department to submit their new SNE.