Political interferences phenomenally scaled up students' dropouts in the government-run schools and ravaged the academic system, Sindh Education Minister, Syed Sardar Shah told the Sindh Assembly on Tuesday. On the private members' day, the minister said that the politically driven appointments, postings and transfers of teachers left thousands of students learning at the government-run schools at risk with higher dropouts. Replying to queries of the lawmakers during the questions and answers session, Shah said that teachers are not attending schools in rural areas of the province, facilitating low students enrollments and their subsequent dropouts.
A 'B-Ed degree', according to the minister, is easily available for Rs 50, 000 that is also responsible for the rundown education system. He said that through political influence, teachers got them transferred to Karachi from rural schools, which unleashed dropouts in the villages. "Inexistence of teachers widens the students' dropouts," he said, adding that members of the Sindh Assembly are behind the transfers of teachers. He saw the politically driven appointments and transfers of teachers as main reason for the falling standards of education in Sindh.
To a question, he told the legislature that nearly 4.5 million students are enrolled in Sindh's schools with 8325 teachers permanently absent, while 5,000 others are absconders. However, biometric system at schools has improved the teachers' presence and performance. Shah also announced that his department is going to introduce a policy to license government and private sector's teachers under the proposed authority. The government will, thus, establish a licensing authority that will register and issue teachers with three years and five years licenses. Similarly, he said, the professional teaching licenses will be for five year term.
Nand Kumar, GDA's minority legislator, tabled a resolution on Hindu girls kidnapping in the house, which lawmakers voted to pass with a few amendments. He also thanked PPP's Chairman, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari for raising voice to support the Hindus rights. "I am thankful to the PPP in this connection," he said, adding that the Hindus are the heirs of Harappa Civilization and Sindh soil but will raise voice for our girls.
He said that an influential landlord in Thatta, who had made a Hindu girl his sibling with banding 'Rakhi' from her and latter married her. "In 14 days, our 41 girls were forced to change their religion. He reminded the legislator of a pledge the founding leader of Pakistan - Qauid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah had made to the minorities of equal status and right in this country, saying "where is Quaid's Pakistan".
Outside the Sindh Assembly building, dozens of journalists mainly members of Karachi Press Club staged a stationary protest to press the Sindh government to retrieve their plots from an illegal and immoral occupation. They were also joined in solidarity by the newsmen covering assembly sessions and chanted slogans and held placards for retrieval of their legally allotted land seized by a government organization.
Sindh Local Government Minister, Saeed Ghani, PPP's legislator, Shabbier Bijarani, PTI's lawmakers, Dr Saeed Ullah Afridi, and Raja Azhar Khan also came to the protesting journalists and showed solidarity with them. Ghani heard their problems. Latter, Bijarani told the house that the journalists protested for their land occupied by a government organization. He gave details about the Sindh government in 2009 through balloting allotted plots to the KPC members from Lyari Development Authority, of which a portion is now under occupation.
He said that the protesting journalists wanted the government to step up to retrieve their land, which possession charges they have already paid. PTI's Saeed Ullah Afridi also told the house that the protesting journalists' demands were just and the occupation on their plots is a federal government's organization. He assured the journalists and the house that his party will play a role to help retrieve the land. Speaker Sindh Assembly also remained the house that the plots to the journalists were allotted when he was Sindh Local Government Minister, and assured that the house will support all the just demands of newsmen.