'Adoption of closed schools': Sindh education department fails to gear up work

Despite tall claims of Sindh's Senior Minister for Education that 300 closed schools will be made functional soon after summer vacation, the Sindh Education department has failed to initiate work on "adoption of the closed schools", Business Recorder learnt here.
On the directives of the Education Minister, the authorities of the department had tasked the Sindh Education Foundation (SEF), a subsidiary organisation, to manage the re-functioning of closed schools. In this regard, SEF had released an advertisement in various newspapers in the month of May 2014.
SEF, which is already facing paucity of funds, striving for the development of education sector in the province. The SEF had planned to re-open 300 schools under its IELP. The Foundation, under the said programme, has already been running some 1,000 primary, elementary and secondary schools in various districts. Sources told this scribe that there are around 8,000 closed schools in the province and the minister for education earlier had asked Revenue officials to get these schools identified and re-opened.
Later, the task was given to SEF. The Foundation through an advertisement had asked individuals and NGOs to apply for the adoption of schools lying closed since long. These 300 schools were lying closed in Dadu, Jamshoro, Shaheed Benazirabad, Tando Mohammad Khan, Larkana, Khairpur Mirs, Sukkur, Sanghar, Thatta, Naushero Feroze and other districts. Among 300 schools closed in Sindh, drought-affected Tharparkar and Umerkot districts topped the list with 101 schools whereas provincial chief minister's home district-Khairpur Mirs-stood second with 37 schools.
According to an official, the SEF is not an independent organisation, it is working under the Chairmanship of Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah while the Managing Director (MD) is the administrative head of this organisation of the Sindh government. Sources said that SEF's current management was waiting for the directives of the Senior Minister or Secretary Education for the schools adoption programme but they were silent over the issue.
Later, SEF management, two days back had written a letter to Secretary Education and Literacy Fazullulah Pechuho for the constitution of a committee which could scrutinise the applications received for the schools adoption programme, sources added. Sources claimed that according to the plan, SEF has to manage re-opening of schools in the first week of August this year but now it seems very difficult and it would take a few more months.