Sindh Minister for Education and Mineral Development Syed Sardar Ali Shah said on September 10 that due to the country’s rapidly growing population, resolving issues within the available resources is becoming an increasing challenge.
He highlighted that every year 1.2 million children are born in Sindh, but the public education system can provide schooling to only 250,000 to 300,000 children annually. He stressed that through partnerships with the private sector, many challenges can be addressed effectively, noting that the Sindh government has already achieved success in several sectors through such models.
He expressed these views at the Education Management Organisation (EMO) Conference organized by the School Education Department’s Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Mode. The theme of the conference was “Partnering for Impact in Education.”
The objective of the conference was to benefit from the joint experiences of public and private institutions in managing public schools, and to deliberate on recommendations for improving the quality of education, ensuring effective use of resources, increasing student attendance, and enhancing teaching standards through strengthened public-private collaboration.
Minister Shah said the government’s EMO conference has opened new pathways for improving the quality of education. “For the hope of better education, we are openly inviting partnerships. We do not want to solve challenges in isolation but by uniting together,” he reiterated. He added that the EMO Conference not only provided an opportunity for the exchange of experiences but also paved the way for a renewed collective commitment towards sustainable educational reforms.
During the conference, participants openly shared views on the background and outcomes of the EMO model in Sindh, the future role of private sector involvement, expert recommendations, and the potential impact on students.
Speakers presented successful examples, emphasizing that by introducing modern teaching methodologies, technologies, and management systems, private investment and facilities could be leveraged alongside public resources to reduce the burden on the education sector. It was agreed that to compete with the modern world, models such as digital learning, smart classrooms, vocational and technical education must be brought into the public-private partnership framework to prepare students according to market needs.
The conference highlighted that currently the number of EMO schools in Sindh has increased from 16 to a much larger network, including 295 schools under the World Bank-supported Sindh Early Learning Enhancement through Classroom Transformation (SELECT) project, 211 under USAID, 54 with JICA’s support, and 839 schools under the Asian Development Bank-backed Sindh Secondary Education Improvement Project. Additionally, three teacher training institutes are also being run under the PPP mode.
The event was attended by Secretary School Education Zahid Ali Abbasi, Senior Director PPP Node Ashiq Khuhro, Chief Program Manager Dr. Junaid Samo, CEO Pythaverse from Indonesia Lim Soon Seong, Chairman Muslim Hands Dr. Pir Syed Lakht-e-Hasnain, Global Director Education Dr. Muhammad Azeem, Director General NAVTTC Dr. Fida Bazai, Suleman Shaikh of SZABIST, Academic Head Classera Middle East Neelam Amir, and Shafiq-ur-Rehman Paracha from Sindh Madressah Board. Representatives of JICA, Unicef, World Bank, Asian Development Bank, USAID, IBA Sukkur, Beaconhouse, Aga Khan Educational Board, Ziauddin Board, SRSO, The Citizens Foundation, and other partner organizations also participated.
Published in The News on September 11, 2025.
