Dahar concedes defeat in efforts to curb cheating

Education minister suspends town education officer for Clifton over poor

performance; announces waiving admission, exam fees for public colleges

The Sindh education minister on Wednesday accepted his failure in putting an end to the culture of cheating after several incidents of blatant cheating surfaced during the ongoing secondary and higher secondary annual examinations.

Addressing a workshop for college principals, held at the Scouts Auditorium near Sindh Assembly Secretariat, Jam Mehtab Hussain Dahar said he had no explanation to give to the ruling party’s hierarchy who want to know what measures had the education ministry adopted to curb cheating.

Although claiming that a number of precautionary measures were taken, he said that none of them proved fruitful as not even 50 percent of the desired results were achieved. He acknowledged that at several examination centres teachers were helping students solve their papers.

He observed that the culture brings is an ugly stain to carry for any civilised society and the only way to get rid of it was for all stakeholders, including teachers, parents and students to work in unison.

The minister, however, issued another warning to all external and internal officials of the examination centres of dire consequences if any incident was reported from their centre. “Those found guilty, would be taken to task and would never be assigned any such responsibility again,” Dahar asserted.

He requested the teaching fraternity to take their students as their own children, adding, that until we won’t own them as our own, the standard of education will not progress.

The education minister criticised the teachers’ negative response over the introduction of a biometric attendance system. He also censured them over complaints of majority teachers leaving work after having marked their attendances.

“The Sindh government provides computers to educational institutions but unfortunately they were not being used at all. We have also forgotten our libraries and benefits of reading books.”

He said it was regrettable that college’s principals hardly visit libraries. “If the principal won’t how do you expect the students to be found in such places,” he said while referring to a young female student’s - from Hyderabad – decision to join the militant Islamic State. 

He also referred to the Safoora bus attackers, three of whom were found to have studied from reputable educational institutions.

“We have to teach our students wrong from right besides teaching them course books.” he said. Dahar blamed the responsibility of Sindh’s deteriorating standard of education on everyone.

He said the donors and federal authorities criticised Sindh education sector’s performances during meetings and that teachers usually lied for getting transfers and postings. “The parents and students regularly complain that college staff or principals demand additional money for admissions even though the decided admission fee has already been submitted,” he said.

Having observed that, Dahar announced waiving off admission and examination fee for students of public sector colleges in a bid to increase enrolment in colleges.

He claimed that the education department was spending almost Rs16,000 per child but the desired results were still not being achieved. “In future there will be no admission and examination fee for college students.”

He further warned principals to not assign non-teaching staff as invigilators during exams. He directed the secretary education for colleges to take action against principals who did not attend the workshop. Dahar also ordered to suspend Town Education Officer, Clifton, Abdul Kareem Samejo over his bad performance.

The two-day workshop was arranged by the Sindh Director General Colleges on Dahar’s directives, to train college principals in handling financial, academic and administrative affairs.

Secretary colleges, Pervaiz Ahmed Sehar and Sindh DG colleges, Dr Nasir Ansar, and regional college directors and principals from across the province attended the workshop.

Later on his surprise visits to the Junior Model School on Frere road, Government School Qamar-ul-Islam in Punjab Colony, Government Degree Girls’ College in Zamzama and Government Elementary School Abdullah Shah Ghazi, Dahar expressed displeasure over the sub-standard construction work and cleanliness.