Capacity utilisation: Primary school becomes home to tailors, vendors

The school also offered motorists parking spaces for Rs500.

LARKANA:

Three officials at a Larkana school were suspended after it became apparent that the school had been rented out to tailors, drivers and vegetable vendors.

Besides offering room for tailors to ply their trade, the Government Boys Primary School Shah Muhammad Sindhi, located in Jelus Bazaar, also offered motorists parking spaces for Rs500 per month. Pushcart owners were allowed to leave their vehicle inside the school during the night for a monthly fee as well.

At least eight tailors were recently seen using sewing machines, irons and other electric equipment, reportedly at the school’s expense.“I am just a worker. The tailor master would know how he got these rooms on rent,” said Mohammad Idrees.

The Sindh government took notice of the issue late on Saturday and constituted a committee under the supervision of assistant district officer (education), Gulsher Soomro.

The school’s headmaster, Nabi Bux Qureshi, supervisor Gada Hussain Shah and watchman Lutaf Marree were suspended on Sunday on the orders of provincial education secretary Illamdin Bilo.

Soomro said that a team had been constituted to investigate the issue and record statements of the three school officials. There were reports that all illegal occupants of the school were removed late on Saturday, while further inquiry into the issue was being conducted.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 30^th, 2012.