KARACHI:
I am a High Court advocate and a retired high school teacher, and I frequently visit the Directorate of School Education, Hyderabad Region, in connection with my professional work. During my visits, I have repeatedly observed that prolonged electricity load-shedding brings the office’s work to a virtual standstill.
In the absence of electricity, computers remain switched off and official work comes to a halt. Officers are often unavailable in their offices, while clerical staff are frequently found away from their desks. Teachers and other government employees who travel from different districts to the Directorate for resolution of their official matters are consequently forced to make repeated visits, even for minor issues.
Actually, the Directorate operates in an old building inaugurated in 1965. During the intense summer heat, prolonged power outages make it extremely difficult for staff to work in closed and poorly ventilated rooms. This building serves as the regional administrative office of the Education Department and is the largest such region in Sindh, comprising nine districts — Hyderabad, Jamshoro, Matiari, Tando Allahyar, Tando Muhammad Khan, Sujawal, Thatta, Badin and Dadu. The Directorate houses the offices of the Director Primary Education and Director Secondary Education. Around 280 employees work at the Directorate. Across the nine districts under its jurisdiction, approximately 47,530 primary and secondary teaching, non-teaching staff and officers are served by this regional office.
The Directorate therefore has an important responsibility for administering government education, facilitating employees and resolving their administrative and service-related matters. If an institution of such importance is unable to function because of load-shedding and administrative problems, the consequences for the education system in the nine districts can well be imagined.
The provincial education minister has rightly been emphasising teachers’ punctuality and attendance. The same standard of punctuality and accountability should also be applied to the administrative offices responsible for supervising the education system. The minister should, therefore, order the installation of an adequate solar power system at the Directorate so that its operations can continue uninterrupted. A biometric attendance system should also be introduced for the directors and other staff.
These measures would help keep the Directorate operational, improve administrative efficiency and, most importantly, save teachers and other employees travelling from distant districts from making repeated visits to get their legitimate matters resolved. An institution responsible for administering education across nine districts should itself be an example of efficiency, punctuality and accountability.
Ismail Khaskheli
Hyderabad
