Karachi: The Sindh government has earmarked a combined Rs1.017 trillion for health and education in the 2026-27 budget, allocating Rs381.83 billion for healthcare services and Rs635.09 billion for education and related sectors, underscoring the province’s continued focus on human development despite fiscal constraints and rising expenditure needs.
Presenting the budget in the Sindh Assembly, Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah said investments in healthcare and education remained central to improving the quality of life and ensuring equitable access to essential services for the people of the province.
The government has allocated Rs381.834 billion for healthcare services, including Rs336.457 billion for current expenditure and Rs45.377 billion for development expenditure, to strengthen hospitals, primary healthcare facilities, emergency services, disease prevention programmes and modern medical infrastructure across Sindh.
According to the budget speech, the National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases (NICVD) continued to expand as one of the world’s largest publicly funded cardiac care systems. Its new outpatient complex, built at a cost of Rs1.2 billion, is providing services to an average of 46,230 patients and conducting around 40,500 diagnostic tests every month. A 100-bed emergency block costing Rs600 million has also been established, while a clinical trial unit is being developed with an investment of Rs250 million.
The Sindh Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases (SICVD), which operates 10 cardiac hospitals and 30 chest pain units, provided free treatment to more than 3.44 million patients during 2025-26 at a cost of approximately Rs13.3 billion. During the year, the network performed 15,927 emergency angioplasties, 12,757 cardiac catheterisation procedures and 1,914 open-heart surgeries. Its chest pain units treated 432,999 patients, including 9,610 emergency heart attack cases. New facilities have also been established in Sanghar and Dadu.
The Sindh Institute of Urology and Transplantation (SIUT) continued expanding specialised services, with its 250-bed children’s hospital now around 80 percent operational and expected to become fully functional by August 2026. Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC) treated approximately 2.58 million patients, including over 617,000 emergency cases, while performing 38,487 major surgeries and managing 51,711 cancer patients. The government has provided Rs3.85 billion for equipment and utilities for its under-construction 550-bed medical tower.
The Sindh Institute of Child Health and Neonatology (SICHN) expanded its network to more than 1,120 beds and treated over 1.2 million children, while the Gambat Institute of Medical Sciences provided treatment to around 2.97 million patients and performed 174 liver transplants, 16 kidney transplants and 29 bone marrow transplants. Emergency services were strengthened through SIEHS-1122 with the addition of 110 ambulances, increasing the fleet to 545 vehicles, while boat ambulance and air ambulance services are also being expanded.
For education, the government has earmarked Rs635.085 billion for school education, colleges, universities, boards and technical and vocational institutions. During the outgoing fiscal year, Rs290 billion was spent on recurring activities and Rs24 billion on development schemes, while another Rs32.5 billion was utilised under foreign-assisted projects.
Murad Ali Shah said one of the major achievements of the year was the recruitment of 74,929 teachers, including primary school teachers, junior elementary school teachers, subject specialists and headmasters. Recruitment for another 5,530 teaching positions is under way to address staffing shortages.
The government completed 1,312 new school buildings and expanded Early Childhood Care and Education facilities through 1,336 classrooms benefiting more than 40,000 children. A total of 752 teachers were trained in ECCE methodologies and 584 newly recruited ECCE teachers were inducted. Digital reforms were accelerated through the Student Attendance Monitoring System, initially launched in 600 schools in 12 districts and now being expanded across the province.
According to the chief minister, 34,104 school cost centres have been operationalised with an allocation of around Rs18 billion under the School Specific Budget initiative. Through the Sindh Education Foundation, nearly one million children are receiving education through more than 3,000 schools and centres, while 202 schools in 17 districts have been adopted under the Adopt-a-School programme.
The government is also implementing the mandatory 10 percent free-ship policy in private schools, benefiting 122,670 students, and has launched a Rs500 million scholarship programme for deserving students seeking admission to foreign universities.