Chief Minister Saeed Murad Ali Shah authorized the Sindh Education Foundation, SEF, on Thursday to create 300 digital microschools focused on admitting 300,000 out-of-school children and recruiting more than 600 female learning facilitators.
He also allocated a budget of Rs 800 million for this initiative. These instructions were released during a broad meeting of SES, which was attended and participated in by Education Minister Saeed Sardar Shah, Chief Secretary Asif Haider Shah, Planning and Development Chairman Nazim Shah, SES Managing Director Qazi Kabir, and Board Members Kesar Bengali, Dr. Qazi Masood, and Dr. Mohamed memon, and School Education Secretary Zahid Abbasi, and Finance Secretary Fayyaz Jatoi.
What Are Microschools?
Micro-Schooling, which upgrades the classic one-room school concept, executes smart home phones and tablets to provide effective learning programs for children, especially those belonging to underprivileged backgrounds. The Chief Minister authorized the expansion of the Accelerated Digital Learning Programme, ADLP, in collaboration with the Teach the Word Foundation, with Phase 2 set to span three years.
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It was recognized as the initial ADLP pilot, approved by the Board of Governors in 2023, and was allocated at least Rs 710 million budget to support approximately 12,500 learners. Mr. Shah authorized SEF MD Qazi Kabir to admit 300,000 out-of-school children by 2025 via the establishment of 300 digital microschools.
However, He also commanded the SEF to enroll about 600 female learning facilitators for this initiative. The SEF MD briefed that there are currently 1 million students admitted across 2,734 schools, 35 public schools, 200 and 223 learning centers, and 125 microschools. Additionally, 4,452 students are getting scholarships, with eight new scholarship recipients who have previously graduated.
The Chief Minister was updated that the SEF operates in six regions and 23 districts, and recently made plans to launch 100 digital classrooms and a huge skill development program by 2025-2026, to equip graduates with the right knowledge and skills to thrive in the community for getting jobs.
Education Minister Syed Sardar Shah remarked that the six previously non-operational public schools without proper shelter are being revitalized through SEF coercive efforts. He emphasized that the SEF is currently spending Rs. 16,000 per student per month with an annual budget allocated of Rs. 15,955 million, which is not sufficient for it. The Chief Minister notified the Finance Secretary to analyze and review the budget and suggest cohesive plans and measures to address shortfalls.
CM was also conveyed that an independent third party had been involved in auditing the SEF accounts for the fiscal years 2021-2022-2023-2024. Lastly, the SEF MD reported that the SEF endowment fund currently is at Rs. 4,068.93 million, with Rs. 1,218.893 million as proceeds so far, and an additional profit of Rs. 52.256 million collected from the credited duty investment fund.