The Improving Quality of Education Programme (IQEP),one of the initiatives of the Sindh Education Foundation’s catering to educational needs in underserved areas of Sindh, was recently implemented across 30 schools in Hyderabad cluster. On 15th July 2010, the Concluding Seminar for IQEP was organized at a local hotel in Hyderabad. The event invited 150 participants including the Foundation Open Society Institute Pakistan (FOSI) and Pakistan Center for Philanthropy (PCP) who sponsored and supported the program implementation as well school heads and teachers from the 30 partner schools, government officials, civil society members and representatives from media.
Prof. Anita Ghulam Ali (MD, SEF) shared her views about the project through a recorded video message. She highlighted the programmatic milestones and achievements and emphasized that without the collective support of donors, local government counterparts and school stakeholders, timely achievement of programmatic targets would not have been possible. Focused efforts through provision of learning materials, training and capacity building of academic and administrative staff, research & monitoring on key quality education indicators and advocacy for replication of models at the district and provincial levels were all carried out effectively through synergizing efforts.
Mr. Sarfaraz Ahmad Rajar, Advisor to Chief Minister, Government of Sindh, presided over the Seminar as Chief Guest. Addressing the audience, he lauded the efforts of the Foundation towards promoting lasting public private partnerships for provision of quality education services to marginalized children across the province. SEF representative gave an overview of the Sindh Education Foundation to the participants. Representatives from PCP and FOSI congratulated the SEF and the 30 partner schools on a successful partnership for enhancing students’ learning achievements through provision of learning resources and capacity building. Moreover they briefed the audience regarding their respective programs. The forum of the Seminar was utilized to highlight the success stories of programme interventions, details of quality education interventions, research-based learnings and challenges faced during the 2 years of implementation. The event also provided an opportunity for school stakeholders to share their experiences and lessons learnt with the audience.
Through 2 years long interventions, the IQEP has laid down important characteristic that can be scaled up and replicated for raising student achievement in schools. Presence of a wide array of stakeholders from policy to practical levels at the Concluding Event in July reaffirmed that public, private and community sector partnerships are a key lever for improving low-performing and failing schools sector in order to ensure access to a high quality education for all. |
