Colleges dept turns to NGOs for help

Pandemic has caused shortage of college staff in remote areas of Sindh

KARACHI:

The Sindh Colleges Department has decided to run government colleges through public-private partnerships.

According to a notification issued by the department on Sunday, the regional directors of colleges in Karachi, Hyderabad, Mirpurkhas, Sukkur and Shaheed Benazirabad have been asked to provide a list of colleges that may be handed over to the administration of NGOs.

The Sindh education minister's spokesperson stated that the Public-Private Partnership Act was passed in 2010, following which educational institutions could be handed over to NGOs. He added that the decision had been taken in line with the act.

The notification added that documentation, including an explanation for the recommendation, must be prepared for each nominated college.

"The education department has taken this step to improve the standard of education in the province," claimed the spokesperson. He added that the public service commission examination for teachers could not be conducted due to the coronavirus pandemic, resulting in a shortage of staff at colleges located in remote areas of Sindh. "As a result, the department is finding it tough to run these educational institutions. We are making this decision in order to continue educational activities in these colleges," he explained.

It is pertinent to mention here that over 2,300 government schools and 324 government colleges are already being run under the public-private partnership model.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, October 5^th, 2020.