7,000 new teachers to be recruited, Sindh Assembly told

Sindh Education Minister Dr Hamida Khuhro has said that 7000 new teachers would be recruited in the provincial education department and the existing 3562 teachers already working on contract would be regularised, keeping in view their performance.
She was replying to a question from Shamim Ara Panhwar when the Sindh Assembly proceedings began on the seventh day on Friday.
Hamida said that there were 2681 male and 881 female teachers working on contract. She said she has already instructed education department officials to look into the menace of absenteeism among teachers and fix responsibility on the officers who had neglected their duties and permitted absentee teachers or the ghost employees to draw salaries.
She said that all future regularisation of contract teachers would be on merit and strictly in the light of their performance.
She said that 7000 fresh teachers would be recruited 'in one go' after passing through a rigorous evaluation of their abilities and screening of their credentials.
She said that all newly appointed teachers would remain confined to their areas of domicile. They would not be transferable from one place to another, she added.
On a question why teachers were appointed on contract she said that it was done on the suggestion of World Bank. The rationale behind this kind of appointment was to cut short expenditure.
To a questioner she said that irrespective of gender of a child, going to school would be compulsory for all school age children.
The minister said that an awareness programme for parents would be launched and they would be motivated to send their girl children to school.
The privilege motion moved by the opposition MPA Nawab Wasan against his alleged detention at Taluka Police Station Mirpurkhas on the night of August 16 and 17 was taken up for discussion.
Qaim Ali Shah said it was a matter of great concern that a member of Sindh Assembly was forcibly detained with the intention to restrain him from attending the Session scheduled on August 17, 2004.
He said that not only Wasan but also his two friends who had accompanied him to the police station were also illegally detained.
After Qaim concluded his arguments, speaker Muzaffar Shah adjourned the session till 9:30 a m on Monday to continue further discussion on the motion.