Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah chaired a review meeting focused on the repair and reconstruction of 4,162 of the 19,808 school buildings damaged by the 2022 floods. He instructed the School Education Department to expedite the restoration efforts and ensure that the rebuilt schools are flood-resistant.
The meeting, held at the CM House, included Minister of Education Sardar Shah, Chief Secretary Asif Hyder Shah, and other key officials. The CM emphasized the need to prioritize schools in the hardest-hit areas and maintain high construction quality, stating, “Education is our top priority, and we must provide a safe learning environment for our children.”
Murad Shah noted that work has begun or will soon commence on 4,162 damaged schools, but he still needs to secure funding for the remaining 15,646 schools. Minister Sardar Shah reported that, of the 40,978 school buildings, 19,808 were impacted—7,503 fully and 12,305 partially. He added that while total enrollment across all schools is 5.22 million, 2.33 million children are affected by the damage.
The CM urged the school education department to ensure classes continue running smoothly, to which the minister assured that temporary arrangements were effectively in place.
The department revealed that out of 36,622 primary schools and 260 elementary schools, 17,255 primary and 1,192 elementary schools had suffered damage. Additionally, 928 secondary and 278 higher secondary schools were also affected.
Regarding repair efforts, the CM learned that various donor agencies and the federal government were assisting in the reconstruction of 4,162 schools. Funding sources included the Asian Development Bank for 1,026 schools, the Sindh government for 538, and contributions from the World Bank, European Union, and JICA for several others. The total cost for repairing these schools is estimated at Rs167,080.78 million.
Shah discussed funding allocations and strategies to prevent future damage from floods, directing the School Education Department to complete all repairs by 2025-26. He concluded by urging them to accelerate restoration efforts to ensure that educational institutions can fully resume operations as soon as possible, emphasizing that prolonged stop-gap measures would hinder educational activities.
