Bid to steal, sell textbooks foiled

Education dept monitoring team recovers missing textbooks in a raid on a house

KARACHI:

The monitoring team of the Sindh Education Department has foiled a bid to steal the textbooks, intended for schools across the province, and sell them to the students or in the market.

Acting on the instructions of Sindh Education Minister Syed Sardar Ali Shah, an inquiry committee has been formed, and an official has been suspended involved in the scam.

The monitoring team, set up by the Sindh Textbook Board, had been overseeing the distribution process for several days to ensure that textbooks reach schools across the province. The team's task included monitoring the transportation of books from textbook board warehouses to the schools. During this process, the team discovered that a significant quantity of textbooks was missing and had not been delivered to any school as required.

Following a tip-off, the monitoring team sought police assistance, which led to an operation in Shah Latif Town and recovered a large quantity of textbooks from a residence. Following the recovery of textbooks, two suspects were taken into custody. An FIR has been registered against them, and their statements are expected to lead to further action against more officials and staff involved in the scam.

In response, the education minister directed the Secretary of School Education to establish an inquiry committee to investigate the incident. Based on the committee's preliminary findings, an official of the department has already been suspended. Further action will be taken based on the committee's report.

Expressing his disappointment over the incident, the education minister described it a 'disturbing sign of society's unethical trends' when the education of thousands of children is compromised for personal gains. He emphasised his commitment to ensuring that textbooks reach every school as promised and appealed the public to assist in identifying individuals who are working against the educational progress.

"The monitoring process to ensure the delivery of textbooks to schools will continue until the final stage," stated the education minister, pledging that his team would fulfill its commitment to promote education in the province.