The Sindh Assembly on Monday unanimously passed a bill into law to regularise some 14,000 primary, junior and high school teachers in the province, who were appointed on contract basis in 2008 and 2009. Sindh Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ayaz Soomro, who tabled the Sindh Regularisation of Teachers Appointed on Contract Basis Bill, 2012 in the house, said all the teachers who were being regularised through the piece of legislation had been appointed on merit.
He said the teachers had passed tests conducted by Institute of Business Administration (IBA) Sukkur and Sindh University Jamshoro in 2008 and 2009. He said that none of the teachers being regularised were appointed on political basis. He added that World Bank had provided assistance for the programme of appointment of contract teachers in the province.
Muttahida Qoumi Movement's (MQM) legislator Sardar Ahmad also supported the bill and said the standards of education at IBA had been par-excellence and the appointment of the contract teachers was based on merit. He said these teachers should be regularised. A female lawmaker of Pakistan People's Party (PPP), Humera Alwani, said the bill being passed into law to regularise the contract teachers would provide great relief to all those, who were uncertain about the fate of their jobs.
She said these teachers would now become part of the Sindh government's education department, adding that there were no doubts about the merit and qualification of the contract teaching staff. She said the PPP-led government had been serving the nation with its people-friendly policies.
Other two bills, which the house approved unanimously were The Syed Abdullah Shah Institute of Medical Sciences Bill, 2012 and The Sindh Establishment of the Office of Ombudsman for the Province of Sindh (Amendment) Bill, 2012. Law Minister introduced The Habib University Bill in the house, but requested Speaker Nisar Khohro to defer its consideration. Now the house will consider the bill on Thursday, March 8.
Speaking about The Syed Abdullah Shah Institute of Medical Sciences Bill, 2012, which is aimed at setting up a hospital in Sehwan with a view to provide medical facilities to the people of the area, Sindh Finance Minister and son of the former Chief Minister Sindh said the facility would also help the visitors of Lal Shahbaz Qalandar's shrine.
He thanked the government for building a medical institute in the area naming after his late father, saying it would also have treatment facilities of thalassemia and dialysis. He said providing basic and advanced healthcare facilities would be a service to the nation. However, he could not continue his speech, as he became emotional by remembering his late father.
Pakistan Muslim League-Likeminded (PML-L) lawmaker Abdul Razzaq Rahimoon supported establishment of the medical institute, saying it would benefit the poor in the rural part of the province. Humera Alwani said the setting up of medical facility would help the Taluka people of Sehwan and appreciated the move.
PPP's lawmaker Dr Sikandar Shoro said it was a significant move of the government to provide medical facility to the people of rural part of the province and a better way to remember the former CM Sindh Abdullah Shah through founding a medical institute. PPP's Dr Ahmad Ali Shah, Muzzafar Shujra, Anwar Khan Maher, Muhammad Bachal Shah, Muhammad Rafiq Advocate, Ayaz Soomro and other also spoke on the bill and supported it.
However, National Peoples Party's (NPP), Arif Mustafa Jatoi said the bill on the Sindh Establishment of the Office of Ombudsman for the Province of Sindh (Amendment), 2012 was unclear as powers of appointing should be vested in Governor Sindh. He was of the view that the bill might create 'unnecessary' dispute between the CM Sindh and Governor Sindh on the issue of appointing an ombudsman. But, MQM's lawmaker, Shoaib Bukhari said it would facilitate the relationship between Governor Sindh and CM Sindh and would not create any disputes. The speaker latter adjourned the session till Tuesday morning.
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