Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah has inaugurated the Student Attendance Monitoring and Redress System (SAMRS), calling it a transformative model that embeds technology and evidence-based decision-making into Sindh’s education reform agenda. Speaking at the provincial launch ceremony held at a local hotel, Shah said that SAMRS is the first comprehensive digital education system introduced by any province in Pakistan, linking student attendance with school infrastructure, teacher performance, and learning outcomes. He stated that SAMRS is designed not only to record attendance but to empower education authorities with real-time data for targeted interventions, efficient governance, and improved learning experiences for students.
The event was attended by Education Minister Syed Sardar Shah, World Bank Country Director Bolormaa Amgaabazar, representatives from UNICEF, the Global Partnership for Education (GPE), the Asian Development Bank, the British Council, JICA, and officials from the School Education and Literacy Department (SELD). The chief minister said that the system is already active in 600 schools across 12 districts and is now being expanded to four more districts with UNICEF support. He emphasized that SAMRS will help predict dropout risks, suggest remedial actions, and improve decision-making processes across the province. Shah added that Sindh’s government is institutionalizing the initiative through a new education policy to ensure long-term sustainability and complete integration into the province’s education governance structure.
Highlighting a holistic approach to education, Shah said that the system should not function in isolation but should connect with broader social services, including health, nutrition, and child protection. He encouraged development partners to explore linking SAMRS with vaccination and health screening systems, as well as social protection databases, to enhance child welfare. He remarked that schools should become community centers that ensure the overall well-being of children, not just places of academic learning. Education Minister Sardar Shah called SAMRS a major step in unifying data across attendance, performance, and infrastructure indicators to enable informed and transparent governance. He also revealed that with the support of NADRA, the system now uses verified B-Form numbers to identify each student accurately, ensuring that every enrolled child is accounted for within Sindh’s education framework.
Education Minister Sardar Shah further shared that 99 percent of schools using SAMRS successfully submitted attendance reports, while 92 percent implemented corrective measures, leading to a measurable reduction in dropout rates. World Bank Country Director Bolormaa Amgaabazar lauded SAMRS as Sindh’s own initiative rather than a donor-driven project, acknowledging the government’s commitment to strengthening public education through innovation. The chief minister also highlighted the ongoing $154.7 million SELECT Project, supported by the World Bank and GPE, which focuses on improving literacy in early grades, introducing modern teaching methods, designing climate-resilient school infrastructure, and reinforcing SAMRS for better retention, especially among girls in rural areas.
As part of the implementation plan, the government announced a structured training rollout that will begin with master trainers and expand to cluster heads and satellite schools across Sindh. Shah said this effort represents a sustainable way to embed innovation within public education and ensure every child in Sindh can attend school, engage meaningfully, and progress academically. The ceremony concluded with a joint pledge from the provincial government and development partners to strengthen education governance and deliver a modern, equitable, and technology-driven education system across Sindh. The chief minister, accompanied by Education Minister Sardar Shah and World Bank Country Director Bolormaa Amgaabazar, formally launched SAMRS by pressing a digital activation button.
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