state of affairs: Ombudsman takes notice of dormant labs

LAHORE:

Ombudsman Javed Mahmood on Thursday took notice of inactive IT labs in public schools and sought reports from DCOs and Education EDOs.

Ombudsman Public Relations Director Abid Noor Bhatti said the labs had been lying dormant due to paucity of quality equipment according to media reports. He said the reports had also asserted that some teachers had taken computers provided to labs to their homes. Bhatti said students had been compelled to take computer lessons at private institutions.

He said media reports had also drawn attention towards the inability of concerned departments to recruit IT instructors across the majority of public schools. Bhatti said the ombudsman’s office was yet to receive a reply from concerned officials. He said the office would inspect data contained in the replies with reference to media reports. Bhatti said action would be taken in case of any anomaly in this regard.

The official said the ombudsman had instructed all DCOs and Education Department EDOs to submit reports on all schools in their jurisdiction.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 16^th, 2015.