Taking action: ‘Education sector needs drastic reforms’

KARACHI: It is high time to take drastic reforms in the education sector, said education minister Jam Mehtab Hussain Dahar.

Talking to the media after a meeting with education directors of all districts at the Sindh Assembly building on Tuesday, Dahar said that an emergency has been declared in the education department.

Education secretary Dr Fazlullah Pechuhu and special education secretary Zakir Hussain Shah were also present at the meeting.

Dahar directed education directors in all districts to pay regular visits to the schools and colleges during first four days of the week. The deputy commissioners and assistant commissioners of the districts will also pay weekly visits to the colleges, higher secondary schools and high schools. They have also been asked to submit their reports to the education minister and education secretary.

Dahar also expressed his resentment over the exorbitant fee charged for the admission of first year students. He directed all principals to return the extra fee within a week otherwise strict action will be taken against them.

Pressure is mounting on the government to hand over the education sector to the private sector because even with huge resources and manpower, the department is unable to come to the expectations of the masses, remarked Dahar.

Speaking about the apathetic attitude of teachers towards education, he said that the primary function of the teachers is to teach but they have indulged themselves in politics.

According to the law, public sector teachers are not supposed to teach in the private sector during school hours, he said. If anyone is caught breaching the law he or she will lose their job, he warned.

He informed in the press briefing that the suggestion to conduct tests of teachers to check their abilities is under consideration. He warned the officers that he would not tolerate any kind of misappropriation in funds and is committed to eradicating corruption in the department. He also asked officers to submit their suggestions on different ways to improve the education sector of the province.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 21^st, 2016.