Murad directs education department to devolve financial, administrative powers to HMs

Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah has directed school education department to decentralize primary school management by handing over administrative and financial powers to headmasters (HMs) of Grade BS-17.
He issued these directives on Wednesday while presiding over a meeting to review development schemes of school education department and work out new uplift portfolio for the next financial year. The meeting was attended by Minister Education Syed Sardar Shah, Chairperson P&D Naheed Shah, Principal Secretary to CM Sajid Jamal Abro, Secretary Education Kazi Shahid Pervez, Secretary Finance Najam Shah, Secretary Colleges Pervez Sihar, Secretary P&D Shireen Narejo, Chief Economist Fatah Tunio and other concerned officers.
The chief minister said that decentralization of primary school management by empowering headmasters of Grade BS-19 with administrative and financial powers. This would be a best way to utlise budget at primary school level.
It may be noted that at present Rs 2 billion of school specific budget and Rs 500 million for innovative inititaives are under the control of education department. The schools through their DEOs and directors keep requesting the secretariat to release their budget and it took a long time to trickle down.
Secretary Education Kazi Shahid Pervez told the chief minister that 201 schemes, including 199 on-going and two new were in progress with an allocation of Rs15150 million against which Rs 8,284.5 billion have been released while the expenditures by end April have been recorded at Rs4194.3 million.
The department proposed to start 149 new schemes in the next ADP. AT this the chief minister said that he would have a very thin allocation for new schemes. "I am trying to complete the on-going schemes on priority basis in the next budget," he said.
Education Minister said that he had a plan to construct 179 two-roomed buildings for shelterless primary schools in 19 districts with a proposed cost of Rs1168 million. He also proposed rehabilitation of 29 high enrolment dangerous primary/elementary school buildings for Rs2610 million.
The chief minister directed the education department to prepare a scheme under which students of government schools could be provided transport facility. "This facility should be provided to those schools where different schools such as primary to higher secondary are housed," he elaborated his point.
Shah expressed his dissatisfaction on the professional teaching quality right from primary to secondary. "We must focus on teachers training and those [teachers] have no capacity to teach should be sent to other wings of the school education.
Minister Education Sardar Shah proposed to create music teachers positions. In the next phase he proposed to appoint English, maths, science and music teachers in secondary schools. "Music will relax the students and inculcate their learning instincts," he said.
The chief minister directed Education Department to have a separate meeting with Planning & development and Finance department for including new schemes in the next budget.