On February 27, 2016, the Community Mobilization Program (CMP) in Pakistan facilitated an inaugural signing ceremony between the Education and Literacy Department (ELD) of Government of Sindh (GoS) and the first two private Education Management Organizations (EMO) – Institute of Business and Administration (IBA) Sukkur and Charter for Compassion (CFC) Pakistan.
Each of these EMOs will independently manage the administration and operation of two newly constructed Sindh Basic Education Program (SBEP) schools in the Districts of Khairpur and Sukkur. Through the management of these four SBEP schools, IBA and CFC will be supporting a combined optimum enrollment of 3,870 students and coordinating with 20 members of the executive body of school management committees (SMCs), 100 SMC Sub-Committee members from the community, and parents of the enrolled children. SBEP intends to construct approximately 106 schools in Khairpur, Sukkur, Dadu, Qamber-Shahdadkot, Kashmore-Kandhkot, Jacobabad, Larkana, and five towns of Karachi through this program, so these two EMOs managing the first four schools is just the beginning!
The signing ceremony, hosted at the Sindh Chief Minister’s House in Karachi, was attended by numerous dignitaries and leaders, including the Chief Minister of Sindh, Qaim Ali Shah, U.S. Ambassador to Pakistan, David M. Hale, U.S. Counsel General, Brian Heath, Senior Minister for Education, Nisar Ahmed Khuhro, and Provincial Director of USAID, Craig Buck. Development partners, teachers, students, and members of the beneficiary communities also attended the historic event.
The EMOs Concession Agreements are governed by key progress indicators linked with improving the functioning of public schools through innovation and modernization of the education system; reducing inefficiencies and addressing the management gaps; delivering better quality of education; and greater private sector investment in the education sector, particularly in rural and underprivileged areas of Sindh. In due time, CMP will continue to assist GoSin outsourcing management of upcoming batches of SBEP-targeted schools through partnerships with credible private sector organizations under EMO policy reform.
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Forward Reform Agenda calls for US assistance to Governments for innovative public-private partnerships (PPPs) to utilize the expertise of private sector entities which serve as the engines of growth and progress in addressing social causes.
Under the USAID Sindh Basic Education Program (SBEP), the Sindh Community Mobilization Program (CMP), implemented by Blumont, is providing comprehensive assistance to the Government of Sindh (GoS) province of Pakistan to pilot a bold policy reform of Education Management Organizations (EMOs). Under the EMOs reform, the management of selected public sector schools is being outsourced to reputable private sector organizations through the formation of performance-based PPPs.
Since the start of the program in August 2013, CMP has assisted GoSin in developing a policy framework for EMOs after robust dialogue with all stakeholders. Furthermore, CMP and GoS established a pool of 20 qualified organizations from the private sector as potential EMOs for the pilot of the reform. CMP’s engagement with GoS has also resulted in providing firm financial backing for the reform with allocations of Rs. 200 million (USD 2 million) and Rs. 500 million (USD 5 million) by GoS for EMO reform in fiscal budgets 2014/15 and 2015/16, respectively. These financial allocations represent a historic investment by the GoS for PPPs in the education sector.
