Sindh’s education minister, Syed Sardar Ali Shah, has announced a one-hour cut in the working hours of government schools in the province owing to the lack of basic facilities in some schools and extreme heat.
The provincial education minister has pointed out, while speaking at a ceremony in Karachi that students are suffering from serious problems continuing their studies with the rising temperature in Sindh.
He pointed out that many schools are still lacking in basic infrastructure and thus children were at risk of exposure to severe weather.
Sardar Shah voiced concern over the situation of schools where students are compelled to sit outside and study despite the extreme heat of as much as 52 degrees Celsius.
He said the situation was indicative of the poor state of the education system and the need to address infrastructure-related challenges, which were urgent.
The education minister said that authorities had so far failed to develop a uniform and effective policy to deal with such issues.
He said several schools lacked even an adequate roof to keep students from getting scorched by the heat.
Shah said that providing sufficient facilities like shelter, etc. in the schools is essential to safeguard the children and to give them a safe learning space.
He emphasised that these challenges of school learning in open spaces need to be dealt with immediately.
The minister also urged more financial assistance for education, requesting more funds to be allotted to the education sector from the federal Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP). PSDP has an annual allocation of Rs1200 billion.
Shah also said that millions of children were getting education through community-based centres.
But the education sector has been struggling to cope with rising challenges in the context of declining budget funding over the last three years alongside rising inflation and operational costs, he said.
He also urged transparency in the budget of education in Sindh, as Rs480 billion should be distinguished in the education budget and the expenditure on operational and non-operational expenses should also be disclosed.