Summary Sindh Education Minister Sardar Shah has announced a one-hour reduction in school timings, while highlighting challenges including out-of-school children, damaged schools and rising costs.
KARACHI (Dunya News) – Sindh Education Minister Sardar Shah has announced a one-hour reduction in school timings across the province, saying the decision was communicated through a post on his official Facebook account.
Speaking at an event in Karachi, Sardar Shah highlighted several challenges facing the education sector, saying the government had been unable to formulate a uniform education policy. He described the large number of out-of-school children as a major challenge.
The education minister said floods had damaged the boundary walls of around 20,000 schools, creating additional difficulties for the provincial education system. He also said Pakistan was among the countries spending the least on education and called on the federal government to provide funds for educational centres through the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP).
Sardar Shah said hundreds of thousands of children were receiving education through community-based centres. He added that rising inflation had increased the operating costs of these educational centres, putting additional pressure on the education system.
The announcement comes after Sindh recently revised its school schedule, with the province restoring the Saturday holiday and adding an hour to teaching time on working days to compensate for the additional weekly holiday.
