State-of-the-art buildings of 118 schools, reconstructed under the Sindh Basic Education Programme (SBEP) by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in collaboration with the Sindh government will be completed in the province by the end of the current year.
"About 60 to 70 percent construction work of remaining 71 schools destroyed in the 2010 floods has been completed and the schools will be ready to impart education to the children by the end of the current year," a USAID official said.
The schools, to impart education to about 80,000 students, were being reconstructed in Dadu, Jacobabad, Qamber-Shahdadkot, Kashmore, Khairpur, Larkana, Sukkur, Shikarpur and Ghotki and five towns of Karachi, including Bin Qasim, Gadap, Keamari, Lyari, and Orangi, he said. The official said currently, the reconstruction of 47 schools had been completed out of which 43 had been handed over to six Education Management Organizations. Out of 43 schools, nine would be operated by Sukkur Institute of Business Administration (IBA), while 11 schools would be managed by The Citizens Foundation (TCF), he added.
The official said the US government through USAID was contributing $ 159.2 million whereas the Sindh government was also providing $10 million cost share for SBEP. The project was aimed at increasing and sustaining student enrollment in primary, middle, and secondary public schools in selected areas of the Sindh province with special focus on bringing back girls who had been dropped from schools.
Briefing a group of journalists who visited a school reconstructed by the USAID and Sindh government in Buzdar Voda, an area of Khairpur, the official said the schools were destroyed completely in 2010 floods and now were reconstructed in short time. He said the school had 22 rooms, including library, science laboratory, one big hall and play ground. Solar system had been installed at the roof of school with the cost of Rs 2 million to provide un-interrupted electricity supply to schools. He said a well-equipped dispensary had also been established to provide health facilities to children. One computer lab had also been set up to provide modern education to children. Presently, he said, about 9000 boys and girls were getting education in the newly constructed schools. The USAID was also arranging training for the teachers from time to time.
To another question, the official said local people had provided agricultural land for the construction of schools. To a question, he said the overall mission was to increase and sustain enrollment of young students in primary, middle and secondary schools in targeted districts in Sindh by developing schools having favorable environment of teaching and learning. The construction of the schools with the necessary provision of facilities would invariably increase the enrollment of students, he added.
To another question, he said the USAID under its Sindh Community Mobilization Programme (CMP) had helped in enrolling 10,000 female students in schools of seven selected districts and five towns of the province at primary, middle and secondary levels. About 8,000 community members in all CMP focused communities trained and developing school improvement plans (SIPs) and social mobilization plans (SMPs). More than 100 district officers were trained and now working with communities in school management. Around 225 including 184 male and 41 female DEOs, ADEOs, TEOs and supervisors from the education department has been trained. The Sindh Reading Programme (SRP), in collaboration with the USAID, will enroll 30,000 out of schools children under its non-formal and literacy programmes in targeted districts of Sindh. As per the programme, through this intervention, it is also anticipated that parents or caregivers of 30,000 out-of-school children will be engaged in literacy and numeric programmes.
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