The Federal Ministry of Education has launched 100 community-based “mat schools” under its non-formal education initiative in Karachi.
The schools were formally inaugurated on Saturday by Federal Education Minister Dr. Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui at a ceremony held at Liaquat Library.
Explaining the initiative, Hameed Khan Niazi, Director General of Non-Formal Education at the Directorate of Basic Education Community Schools (BECS), said the model compresses the curriculum for grades one to five into a 30-month program.
“Thanks to the federal minister’s efforts, this 100-school package has now been introduced in Karachi,” he added.
Niazi noted that the schools are being opened inside community members’ homes to reach out-of-school children. The Ministry has provided mats for students to sit on along with all essential teaching and learning materials. Children aged eight to sixteen can enroll, sit for grade-five examinations, and afterward transition to technical education. Teacher training for these schools will begin on October 1.
Addressing the event, Dr. Siddiqui said it is the collective responsibility of all elected representatives to ensure these schools function and are preserved. Similar community schools already operate in large numbers in districts such as Badin, Qambar, and Ghotki.
“We are providing mats for Karachi’s schools — a city that contributes 97 percent of Sindh’s revenue and 60 percent of Pakistan’s — while carrying the country’s economic burden,” the minister remarked.
He added that after the 18th Constitutional Amendment, it appeared urban Sindh had lost its right to education, but “we fought legal battles to open these schools.”
Siddiqui also credited the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) for bringing these 100 schools and several universities to Karachi.
“We represent the descendants of Pakistan’s founders. In parliament, workers and farmers are represented by capitalists, and only a few families represent us. In the 21st century we may be teaching our children on mats, but we will make sure they are educated,” he said.
