46% of girls has been affected in wake of catastrophic flooding in Sindh

Sindh Minister for Education and Literacy Syed Sardar Ali Shah revealed that the education of over two million children, 46% of which are girls, has been affected in the wake of catastrophic flooding in Sindh province.

46% of girls has been affected in wake of catastrophic flooding in Sindh

Sindh Minister for Education and Literacy Syed Sardar Ali Shah revealed that the education of over two million children, 46% of which are girls, has been affected in the wake of catastrophic flooding in Sindh province.

The minister shared the information during an emergency meeting of the UNICEF Education Partner Group on climate-induced emergencies in Pakistan and the Horn of Africa via video link.

The meeting was held to discuss the revival of education in the province, which remains hugely impacted following devastating floods across Pakistan due to climate change.

The minister, during the meeting, shared details of educational losses that have endured in the past few months due to catastrophic flooding in Sindh.

Informing the global donor community, Shah said: “Around 20,602 schools have been damaged in the province and schoolchildren cannot be forced to sit in dilapidated buildings during the restoration phase.”

He added that the structure of many schools has weakened as a result of the damage and is not fit for use. He insisted the Education Partner Group focus on planning to build climate change resilient structures for schools in the future.

Shah added that the biggest challenge is to resume the learning process for schoolchildren at this time for which the government needs to provide 20,000 tents. Members of the international community praised the provincial government for its flood response and ensured help in rebuilding the educational infrastructure in Sindh.

The education sector has been severely impacted by the recent flood and rain emergency. At least 25,993 schools have been damaged or destroyed in the region of Sindh, Balochistan, Punjab and KP due to the floods with data collection still ongoing.

In addition, more than 7,062 schools that were not damaged have turned into relief camps to provide shelter to the flood affected population. The use of schools as temporary shelter for displaced people is disrupting schooling and the ongoing academic year, and expected cause loss of learning materials and further damages to education infrastructure including WASH facilities, requiring cleanng and renovation later. ‘

Originally published at Geo TV