USAID will give $155m for education in Sindh

USAID has approved a grant of $155 million for the promotion of education in Sindh, said Sindh Education Secretary Siddiq Memon on Monday. He said during a meeting between Sindh Education Minister Pir Mazharul Haq and US Consul General William Martin at the former’s office, the CG assured all his support for the cause of education in the province. The secretary said the USAID grant would be used for reconstruction of schools and provision for furniture and other essential educational equipments in the flood-hit areas. The assistance would be utilised to improve quality of education and to enhance availability of educational assistance to the people in remote areas, he said. The education secretary said the previous governments had inducted teachers, in the education department, who had little interest in their work and caused a deteriorating impact on education system. He said civil society, parents and all sections of society would have to make concerted efforts for improvement in standard of education in the province. The secretary said the current ratio of education in the province is 56 percent and this is much lower in the rural areas and far worse among girls. He appealed to all sections of the society to ensure that their girl children not only get enrolled in schools but also complete their education. Memon said the provincial education department was facing financial constraints and it was due to concerted efforts and sincerity of purpose of education minister that the international agencies were convinced to support the provincial education department. The European Union has provided an assistance of 39 million euros while the World Bank has approved $700 million soft loans for the education department, he said, This assistance has helped the education department to develop a schools’ infrastructure, however, much more is needed to be done