KARACHI, Feb 17: A joint delegation of the World Bank and the European Commission met Sindh chief secretary Fazlur Rehman in connection with the Sindh Education Reform Programme (SERP) on Tuesday.

The World Bank was represented by director operation Said Al Habsi.

The EC team was led by Andreas Roettger and the SERP team was represented by Reema Nayar. Consultants and other government officials were also present at the meeting.

The Sindh Education Reform Programme was a broad-based education reform agenda adopted by the government of Sindh, officials said.

Its objective was to increase public access to quality education in government schools, they added.

To improve fiscal sustainability and financial management of education sector expenditure, provide supply-and-demand side interventions and improve the induction of qualified teachers through merit-based recruitments are the stated principles of the programme.

The delegation appreciated the political and administrative backing for the programme by the government and indicated that it might enter into a three-year IDA credit arrangements of around $300 million if the Sindh government achieves set targets within the agreed timeframe.

The first tranche of $100 million may be available by June 2009. The government of Sindh appreciated the mission’s support and reaffirmed its commitment towards the achievement of the targets.—PPI