KARACHI: The Sindh Education Foundation (SEF) has achieved a major milestone by enrolling one million students across the province, said a press release issued here on Monday.

Sindh Education Minister Syed Sardar Ali Shah, who is vice chairman of the SEF Board of Governors, termed the achievement `remarkable` and congratulated the entire SEF team on this success.

The minister stated that SEF has played a vital role in preventing thousands of children from dropping out of school and in expanding access to education inunderserved areas.

He directed SEF partner organisations to ensure that at least 40 per cent of the subsidy amount was allocated to teachers` salaries.

He also announced that under the Sindh School Education Scholarship Programme (SSESP), at least 50pc of scholarships would be reserved for girls, reinforcing the government`s commitment to gender equity in education.

Presiding over a meeting held at the SEF head office in Karachi, the minister emphasised that all available resources would be utilised to implement Sindh`s education policy initiatives.

He issued directives to strengthen technologybased monitoring,enhance support for female students and further reinforce quality assurance mechanism.

On the occasion, Managing Director SEF Gahanwer Ali Laghari briefed the minister on the foundation`s ongoing and upcoming initiatives.

He highlighted the strengthened monitoring and evaluation system, noting an increase in field visits and a more focused approach towards schoollevel improvement.

Mr Laghari also informed the minister about a `wellness survey` conducted for meritorious students enrolled under the SSESP.

In a unique initiative, the minister connected via video link with a cluster-based teacher trainingsession in a remote area of Larkana, where SEF is providing 100pc teacher training in early learning and foundational learning.

Mr Shah interacted directly with teachers, reviewed the quality of training and received first-hand feedback from participants.

While sharing his observations on SEF`s presentation, he directed that the monitoring and evaluation system be fullyautomated using advanced technologies such as facial recognition, biometrics and geofencing/geotagging, to enhance transparency and efficiency.

He expressed his concern for students` wellbeing and instructed SEF to develop standard operating procedures (SOPs)forfreeeyecheckups to be provided through partner institutions.