‘Repair of 928 schools underway in Sindh’

Education secretary tells SHC 6,467 single-teacher schools shut

KARACHI:

Repairs and upgradation of 928 primary schools is underway in Sindh, the provincial education secretary told the Sindh High Court on Thursday.

Foreign donor and development agencies like the USAID, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and Asian Development Bank (ADB) are helping the provincial government in th uplift of the said schools, the education secretary told the court.

As per the court orders, the secretary submitted a report regarding the condition of educational institutions in Sindh province. The report stated that at present there are 33,758 functional government-run schools in the province and more than 4.355 million children are studying there.

The report maintained that for the past several years, teachers have neither been recruited nor upgraded in these educational institutions. Due to non-recruitment of teachers, 6,467 single teacher schools got closed in Sindh.

The report maintained that large-scale recruitment of teachers has been started in the province and so far, offer letters have been issued to 20,764 teachers. Recruitment is underway in the province. Before August 1, 2022, 33,000 primary teachers will be recruited.

As of August 1 this year, 17,000 junior elementary school teachers are being recruited.

After the recruitment of new teachers, 95 per cent reduction of teachers will be completed.

Many children drop out of school between primary, secondary and high school. There is a problem of upgrading schools to overcome this problem.

There are 35,917 primary schools and 4,308 high schools and colleges in Sindh. There is a big gap between primary and secondary school, due to which children drop out of school.

Notice issued to MQM-P convener

The Sindh High Court (SHC) has issued notice to Muttahida Qaumi Movement Pakistan (MQM-P) Convener Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui on a petition regarding more than 21,000 government jobs in Sindh and summoned him today on Friday.

A two-member bench headed by Justice KK Agha heard the petition. The court summoned MQM convener and issued notice to him as party chief.

The court remarked that Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui should submit a reply as to whether he would like to pursue the case. Advocate Tariq Mansoor said that he wanted to make it clear that the case was not filed by MQM but the members of the parliament.

The court summoned Kunwar Naveed Jameel to the rostrum. Justice KK Agha asked, “Are you Kunwar Naveed Jamil?” The Deputy Convener said: “My name is Kunwar Naveed Jamil.”

Justice KK Agha asked: “Will you pursue the case or withdraw it? If you pursue the case, you will not be allowed to withdraw.”

Jameel said: “We need justice, we want you to hear the case. We want the rule of law to prevail.” Justice KK Agha instructed him to consult his political leadership.

The petitioner’s lawyer, Tariq Mansoor Advocate, stated: “I am again saying that the case was filed by the members of the assembly.”

Meanwhile, Intelligence Bureau’s counsel Mukesh Kumar stated that the petition was filed by the MQM, a political party. “We have serious objections to it,” he said. Advocate Tariq Mansoor stated that the petition was not filed by the MQM but by the members of the assembly.

Justice KK Agha remarked that the court wanted to hear the case in detail. “We will hear the case tomorrow and issue an order,” the judge remarked.

Meanwhile, the Carrier Testing Services Pakistan also became a party in the case. The National Testing Service also filed a petition for reinstatement in the case. The court adjourned the hearing till 8:30am today (Friday).

Appeal granted partially

The Sindh High Court (SHC) has partially granted the appeal against the convictions of Ishaq alias Bobby alias Hussain and Asim alias Capri, two operatives of the banned outfit in the murder case of former secretary of Karachi Bar Association, Amir Haider Shah.

The high court upheld the death sentences of the accused. A two-member bench headed by Justice KK Agha ruled on the appeals of two members of the banned outfit, Ishaq alias Bobby alias Hussain and Asim alias Capri in the murder case of former KBA secretary.

The court removed the terrorism provisions against the accused. The court upheld the death sentence handed down to both the accused in murder case. The lower court had sentenced the accused to death on two counts each. The SHC has also upheld the fine of Rs200,000 imposed on each of the accused by the lower court.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 20^th, 2022.