Yet another achievement for the Sindh Community Mobilization program (CMP) and USAID’s Sindh Basic Education Program (SBEP), the groundbreaking ceremony for Government School Weeharabad marked the commencement of construction for four more state of the art school buildings in Karachi.
The Sindh Education Minister and U.S. Consul General along with Special Secretary Education Akhtar Inyat Bhurgri and U.S. Deputy Mission Director Denise Herbol broke ground to mark the start of construction of four more schools this week in Karachi. Local government representatives, community leaders, teachers and students were also present on the occasion. The schools are being constructed under the USAID $155 million Sindh Basic Education Program.
Denise Herbol, Deputy Mission Director USAID Pakistan, addresses the crowd. Photo by: Muhammad Amjad Jamal, SBEP.
Speaking at the event, the Sindh Education Minister, Jam Mehtab Hussain Dahar, expressed his appreciation for the U.S. Government’s strong support in modernizing education in Sindh. “Education is the utmost priority of the Sindh Government and we are very grateful to USAID for helping us in education reforms, a need of the hour.” In his thanks to the U.S. Government, he added that the U.S. Government is helping Sindh Province in the construction of more than 100 new school buildings through the Sindh Basic Education Program. This is one of the best investments the province has ever had, and it will change the economic and social conditions for the next generations.
Two Sindh students acting as Masters of Ceremony. The students read aloud the “Story of Sindh Basic Education Program” book. Photo by: Muhammad Amjad Jamal, SBEP
“The United States Government strongly supports education in Pakistan and we are proud to partner with the Sindh Government for the construction of 106 schools throughout Sindh,” said Consul Grace Shelton at the ceremony. The SBEP program is constructing up to 106 modern school buildings in eight districts of Sindh. Currently, 23 schools are completed and 11 schools stand operational for educational activities. Senior USAID officials, local government officials and all those in attendance had only good things to say of the ceremony and the work CMP/SBEP is doing in Sindh province.
USAID and Sindh government officials officially break ground. Photo by: Muhammad Amjad Jamal, SBEP.
The project aims to increase and sustain student enrollment in primary, middle, and secondary public schools in selected areas of Sindh, with a special focus on bringing back children who have dropped out of schools. Besides school construction, SBEP also supports the government in piloting reforms in education, community mobilization, public-private partnerships and improving reading competency of students in school.
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