资源环境科技发展态势分析平台

In 2013, the Government of Sindh (the government) passed the Sindh Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, in compliance with Article 25-A of the Constitution of Pakistan. This legislation placed renewed pressure on the government and its School Education and Literacy Department (SELD) to introduce measures to address the province’s weak education performance. Sindh’s poor performance on key education indicators, especially for girls and those in rural areas, prompted the province’s chief minister to declare an education emergency in 2016. The Sindh Education Sector Plan 2014–2018, which set out the government’s education vision and strategy, included the use of public–private partnerships (PPPs) to support the government’s efforts to address the significant educational challenges facing the province. Under one such PPP initiative, the education management organizations (EMO) program, the SELD contracts with private sector partners to operate public schools.

Key points

• Education outcomes in Sindh are poor, especially for girls and those in rural areas. The Government of Sindh (the government) passed the Sindh Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act in compliance with Article 25-A of the Constitution of Pakistan in 2013. This put renewed pressure on the government and its School Education and Literacy Department (SELD) to address the weak performance of province’s education sector.
• The education management organizations (EMO) program was developed by the newly established public–private partnership (PPP) node in SELD in 2015. The EMO program is a PPP involving the private management of public schools with the key objective of improving the functioning of public schools through innovation and modernization. In addition, the program aims to reduce inefficiencies and address management gaps in public education to deliver better quality education to all.
• EMOs are selected via a transparent competitive bidding process. The government retains ownership of school land and buildings. SELD’s PPP node has overall responsibility for the selection and management of EMOs, which are reputable organizations with a credible track record of providing a range of quality education services, including management of educational institutions.