The Chief Minister of Sindh, Syed Murad Ali Shah, has directed the Sindh Education Foundation (SEF) to establish 300 digital ‘micro-schools’.

The goal of this initiative is to enroll 300,000 out-of-school children and hire over 600 female learning facilitators. The Chief Minister has also approved a budget of Rs800 million for this project.

These instructions were issued during a board meeting of the SEF, which was attended by various government officials, including the Education Minister, Chief Secretary, Planning and Development Chairman, School Education Secretary, Finance Secretary, SEF Managing Director, and board members.

The Chief Minister approved the expansion of the Accelerated Digital Learning Programme (ADLP) in collaboration with the Teach the World Foundation. The phase II of the ADLP is set to span a three-year period.

The initial ADLP pilot, which was approved by the Board of Governors and Cabinet in 2023, had been allocated Rs710 million to support approximately 12,500 learners.

Shah directed the SEF Managing Director, Kazi Kabir, to enroll 300,000 out-of-school children by 2025 through the establishment of 300 digital microschools. Additionally, he instructed the SEF to employ over 600 female learning facilitators for this initiative.

Kabir informed the Chief Minister that the per-student cost in the next phase of the ADLP would be Rs2,200. Based on this information, the Chief Minister approved a budget of Rs800 million for the SEF.

The meeting was also briefed on the current state of the SEF’s operations. It was discussed in the meeting that there are one million students enrolled across 2,734 schools, 35 public schools, 223 learning centers, and 125 micro-schools. Additionally, 4,452 students are receiving scholarships, with 804 scholarship recipients having already graduated.

Furthermore, the Chief Minister was informed that the SEF operates in six regions and 23 districts, and plans to launch 1,000 digital classrooms and implement skill development programs by 2025-26. The aim of these initiatives is to equip the SEF’s graduates with employable skills.

Shah noted that the SEF has revitalized six previously non-functional public schools that lacked proper shelter through its efforts.

He highlighted that the SEF currently spends Rs16,000 per student per month, with an annual budget of Rs15,955 million, which he deemed insufficient. The Chief Minister instructed the Finance Secretary to review the budget and suggest measures to address any shortfall.

The Chief Minister was also informed that an independent third party had been engaged to audit the SEF’s accounts for the fiscal years 2021-22 to 2023-24.

Lastly, the SEF Managing Director reported that the SEF Endowment Fund currently stands at Rs4,068.893 million, with Rs1,218.893 million generated so far, and an additional profit of Rs52.256 million earned from the invested gratuity fund.

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