Three girls killed as school wall collapses in Umerkot

UMERKOT: Three minor girls were killed after a school wall collapsed in Goth Gamuri of Umerkot district in Sindh on Tuesday, officials said.

According to police, the girls were walking alongside the school wall while returning from a nearby madrasa when the wall suddenly collapsed, burying them under the debris.

Rescue workers and police rushed to the scene immediately after the incident was reported and shifted the bodies to the Civil Hospital Umerkot.

The deceased were identified as 13-year-old Sughra, three-year-old Raiba, and Kaneezah.

Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah took notice of the incident and expressed deep sorrow over the deaths of the three girls.

CM Murad Ali Shah sought an immediate report from the Education Department and ordered a transparent and impartial investigation into the incident.

He directed authorities to take strict action against those found responsible if negligence or carelessness is established.

Murad Ali Shah also ordered a province-wide survey of dilapidated walls in schools and other government buildings to prevent similar tragedies in the future.

Sindh’s FRAMES school attendance system draws criticism over past reform failures

Earlier, Former Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) MPA Rabia Azfar Nizami raised questions about the Sindh government’s facial recognition attendance system, “FRAMES,” for teaching and non-teaching staff in schools.

In a statement shared on social media, Rabia Azfar Nizami questioned whether Sindh’s facial recognition attendance system was about “accountability or optics.”

She also cited examples of similar past projects that failed and urged international donors to seek verified improvements before approving funding for such initiatives in Sindh.

Nizami asked: “At what point do international donors require proof of outcomes before writing the next cheque?”

The government’s FRAMES initiative uses biometric facial recognition and geo-fencing technology to track teacher attendance. “Technically sound. Politically brilliant. But Sindh has been here before — repeatedly,” she remarked.