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Karachi, August 26, 2004
Federal Education Minister and U.S. Ambassador Award District School Grants |
Federal Minister of Education Zobaida Jalal and U.S. Ambassador to Pakistan Nancy Powell, announced the award of the first round of District School Improvement Grants worth Rs. 37.5 Million to the districts in Sindh and Balochistan. The awards are in support of the implementation of District Improvement Plans focusing on school improvement in selected districts of Sindh and Balochistan.
In her speech at the event, Ambassador Powell, expressed her appreciation for the efforts made by the Ministry of Education and District Governments in thinking creatively about utilizing resources more efficiently and working with parents, communities, and the private sector. She emphasized that the spirit of openness and transparency are integral to success of good development projects, and details on USAID's programs are now being shared with the public through the USAID/Pakistan's website.
Other dignitaries present at the occasion included: USAID Mission Director, Ms Lisa Chiles; USAID, Federal Secretary for Education Mr Sajid Hasan; Provincial Secretary for Education (Sindh), Mr Nadir Ali Markhini; Provincial Secretary for Education (Balochistan), Mr Munir Ahmed Badini; Chief of Party ESRA, Ms. Suzanne Olds; Deputy Chief of Party ESRA, Dr. Salman Humayun ; and, Chief Technical Officer, ESRA, Dr. F. Henry Healey.
Grants were given to districts Naushki, Chagahi, Hyderabad , Kech, Gawadar, Killah Saifullah, Khairpur, and Sukkur. The improvement projects address various problems such as inadequate teacher training, revitalization of non-formal schools, and improving monitoring and evaluation systems. Funding for these projects will run between 12-18 months. In order to ensure sustainability once the grant funding ends, the districts have agreed to request funding for these activities in their next budgets.
USAID returned to Pakistan in July 2002 and placed improving primary education at the top of its agenda. In August 2002, USAID and the Government of Pakistan signed a five-year, $100 million grant agreement to work with the Ministry of Education to help improve the quality of Pakistan 's primary schools. USAID has also launched new initiatives in health and democracy/governance, and economic growth sectors. |
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