KARACHI: Sindh Minister for Education and Culture Syed Sardar Ali Shah has said that the identification of issues and formulation of policies require a data mechanism. “Unfortunately, due to the absence of an effective data system, we face many difficulties in understanding problems and finding their solutions. Framing perfect policies based on correct data can be helpful,” he said.
He expressed these views during the unveiling ceremony of the ‘Student Census’, a report on private schools, at the Arts Council of Pakistan here on Thursday.
Syed Sardar Shah unveiled the report, which involved visits to 12,809 private schools, out of which 11,736 were found to be functional and 1,073 non-functional.
According to the survey, 1,247 primary, 553 middle, 2,784 elementary, 6,546 secondary and 606 higher secondary or A-level schools are operating under private schools.
There are 10,264 registered schools in Sindh while 860 schools have applied for registration. The province has 31 madressahs as well, according to the report.
In the private schools, 3,941,938 students are currently enrolled. Among them, 1,804,333 are female students, and 2,137,605 are male students.
The survey also shows that there are 1,66,788 students from minority communities studying at private schools.
According to the survey, private schools employ 298,938 staff members, including 2,25,158 teaching staff and 73,780 non-teaching employees.
There are 171,423 female teachers and 53,735 male teachers at private schools.
On the occasion, the minister said that this was the first student census conducted by the education department of Sindh on private schools enrolment. He emphasised the importance of complete and accurate data, stating that without accurate data, they would keep making assumptions and facing wrong perceptions.
“With the publication of this report, we now have the data to estimate the number of children outside schools in Sindh,” he added.
The education minister acknowledged that criticism would come with sharing of the complete data, but the people would accept it and try to improve it.
He also mentioned that the student census led to the suspension of school registration, which would now resume. The unregistered private schools will also be given a chance to register, and no unregistered school would be allowed to operate in Sindh, he added.
He further said that the Sindh government would plan their re-enrolment, adding that due to the lack of a data mechanism, many projects were facing delays.
Addressing the ceremony, School Education Secretary Ghulam Akbar Laghari highlighted the significance of data science in today’s world “given that digital currency is the most valuable currency globally”.
He stressed the need for more work on data mechanisms to move forward along with the times.
The student census data for private schools will also be published on the education department’s website.
Copies of the student census report were distributed among the participants at the end of the event.
Special Secretary of School Education Ghulam Ali Barhamani, RSU chief programme manager Dr Junaid Samoon, director of registration of private institutions Rafia Malah and representatives of private school associations, educational experts and teachers attended the programme.
Published in Dawn, August 4th, 2023