By Abdul Ghani

The Sindh government has trained 21,500 teachers under its flagship education reform programme to enhance the quality of instruction at the primary school level, according to a document available with Wealth Pakistan. The initiative is part of the Sindh Early Learning Enhancement through Classroom Transformation (SELECT) project, a major education sector intervention designed to enhance foundational literacy and numeracy among primary school students.

According to official documents, the project carries a total cost of $167.21 million and is being implemented from August 2021 to April 2026 to address persistent learning gaps in early education. Under the programme, teachers have undergone several Continuous Professional Development (CPD) cycles, focusing on modern teaching methods, improved classroom engagement, and better learning outcomes for young students.

Teacher training is a critical component of the project, as improving the quality of instruction at the early stage can significantly influence students’ long-term academic performance. The SELECT initiative is being implemented in 12 districts of Sindh, covering schools in both rural and urban areas to ensure that children from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds benefit from improved teaching practices.

Along with teacher training, the project has also distributed 467,385 sets of teaching and learning materials (TLMs) among Grade-1-5 students and teachers to make classroom learning more interactive and effective. The programme also includes baseline assessments through the Early Grade Reading Assessment (EGRA) and Early Grade Mathematics Assessment (EGMA) to evaluate students’ learning levels and monitor progress during the project period.

Focusing on teacher capacity building and foundational learning is essential to improving education quality in Sindh, where early-grade literacy and numeracy have long been persistent challenges. The initiative is expected to play a significant role in strengthening primary education and reducing dropout rates in later stages of schooling as it moves toward completion in April 2026.

Credit: INP-WealthPk