Daily Times

KARACHI: The Sindh Education Foundation (SEF) has launched a programme to establish middle and high schools to gradually bridge the gap between primary and post-primary education in the province. An announcement made on Sunday said that under the banner of the Sindh Education Foundation Middle and High School Programme, with the support of Sindh Education and Literacy Department, the SEF has finalized selection of approximately 60 school operators for the establishment of around 125 middle and high schools in Sindh. Sources said that these schools are planned to be set up in areas where there are no post-primary schools. It was pointed out that with financial and technical support extended to these post-primary schools, and SEF would accomplish enrollment of 30,000 students in Phase I, making a small breakthrough. The overall target assigned to the foundation under this programme is to reach out to estimated 200,000 students in the next five years period. SEF, which is a semi-autonomous body working under a board of governors headed by the Sindh chief minister and with senior minister for Education and Literacy Department as its vice chairman, would provide financial and technical support for the establishment and management of the said middle and high schools. According to SEMIS Data of the year 2014-15, 90 percent of the public schools in the province are primary, and 10 percent of all three types of schools combined, like middle, elementary, secondary and higher secondary.