AKU-IED, Sindh Government establish a landmark partnership for inclusive education

By Abdul Qadir Qureshi 

(Pakistan News & Features Services)

In a move set to reshape how Pakistan educates children with disabilities, the Sindh Cabinet has approved a five-year partnership between the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (DEPD) and the Aga Khan University’s Institute for Educational Development (AKU-IED). The Memorandum of Understanding was signed recently at the Chief Minister House in Karachi. 

The Chief Minister of Sindh, Syed Murad Ali Shah, who witnessed the signing, called it “not merely an agreement” but “a solemn commitment to every child with disabilities in Sindh that their dreams matter, their potential is recognized, and their future will no longer be limited by barriers." 

The partnership will establish an Inclusion and Special Educational Needs (SEN) Unit at AKU-IED, for training, research, and innovation that will house sensory rooms, therapy spaces and dedicated resource centres. The initiative aims to train more than 2,000 educators and, through them, reach an estimated half a million school children over the next five years. 

According to UNICEF, an estimated 96% of children with disabilities in Pakistan are out of school, with Sindh bearing a large proportion of this burden due to poverty, gender disparities, and limited functional accessibility. Overall, Sindh has 7.4 million out-of-school children, where disability acts as a major compounding barrier to attendance. 

"For too long, children with disabilities have been invisible in our education system. Today, we are making a promise to every family in Sindh that their children matter,” Tuaha Ahmed Faruqui, Secretary of DEPD, stated.

The initiative's most ambitious commitment is workforce transformation. AKU-IED will deliver modular courses, Training-of-Trainers programmes, and certification pathways to more than 2,000 educators. Its Bachelor of Education degree will offer specialization in inclusive education with monthly stipends. 

Beyond training, the collaboration establishes a province-wide research and advocacy agenda: baseline assessments, implementation evaluations, and annual policy commissions to inform government decisions. Biennial SEN conferences and policy seminars will convene experts and advocates, while public education campaigns will produce multimedia resources, toolkits, and community sensitisation initiatives to shift mindsets about disability inclusion. 

"This is not just an institutional milestone. It is a commitment to every child in Sindh who has been waiting for an education system that sees them, hears them, and empowers them," Professor Farid Panjwani, Dean, AKU-IED, reckoned. 

The Government of Sindh will provide grant funding, while AKU-IED contributes expertise and institutional resources. The SEN Unit will develop a strategic roadmap designed to sustain impact well beyond the five-year term. 

“The true measure of an education system is whether it reaches those who have historically been left furthest behind. By preparing teachers and schools to educate children with special needs, this partnership will help to ensure that all our children have the opportunity to fulfill their potential,” Dr Sulaiman Shahabuddin, President, AKU, recognized. 

The partnership envisions a Sindh where every child, regardless of ability, finds belonging, understanding, and empowerment in their classroom, a future now within reach.