The situation needs attention of the high-ups
KAROONDI, KHAIRPUR DISTRICT: I am a lecturer and writer by profession and am also a recipient of the Shah Abdul Latif Bhitai National Award given away under the auspices the Pakistan Academy of Letters. I urge the Sindh education ministry to work towards ending the widespread corruption in the education department.
College teachers are asked for big amounts as transfer fees if they are to be relocated and posted in another institution. Teachers are even transferred at a distance of over 100 kilometres from their hometowns. They depend on their limited salaries and cannot afford the increasing daily transportation costs. Corruption and bribery are rife in the department and teachers are being exploited.
I too am a victim of this corruption. I am posted at an institute that is 200 kilometres away from my hometown. For the past five years, I make a journey of five hours on a daily basis to get to work. As the sole bread-winner of my family, I am forced to undertake this arduous journey, but as a diabetic who also suffers from heart problems, my body can no longer endure it. I have filed numerous petitions with the ministry for transfer to any college in Khairpur, or in a nearby area, but have failed to receive a positive response, as I have not paid the ‘transfer fee’ that is asked for. Too many like me are suffering because of such corrupt practices in the education department. The situation needs attention of the high-ups.
Mazhar Abro
Published in The Express Tribune, May 7th, 2019.
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