Sindh govt wants to destroy education sector under a plan, alleges PTI leader

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Karachi President and Member Sindh Assembly Khurram Sher Zaman, while addressing a press conference at the Insaf House on Saturday, said the provincial government intended to destroy education in the province under a well-organised plan.

The PPP had once again tasked Sardar Shah with running education on the advice of “Anil Kapoor (referring to CM Murad Ali Shah) who dreams at night and making changes in the system through press statements the next day”.

On the occasion, the PTI MPA was accompanied by Syed Tariq Shah, head of the All Private Schools Management Association Sindh, Rabia Azfar Nizami, Member Sindh Assembly, PTI leader Sameer Mir Sheikh and other leaders.

Zaman said 39 per cent of the teachers had completed the Covid vaccination as per the data issued by the Secretary School Education and Literacy Department.

He said Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah can arrange private parties and holds every day meetings anywhere in the city, but cannot open schools in the province. It is unacceptable for the private sector of education, he added.

The PTI leader demanded that during an academic year it was mandatory for educational institutions to be opened for 180 days, but schools and colleges were opened for 62 days only.

The Sindh government wanted to deprive the people of the province of education, and as many as 70 per cent of children attended government schools, but there was no online system in government schools in Sindh, he remarked.

At present, 4.5 million children have been deprived of education. Textbooks for secondary classes have not been printed. The recruitment process of 37,000 teachers has been halted. The Sindh government has allocated 277 billion to education, and its major part that makes around 70 per cent is being spent on paying salaries.

“Anil Kapoor always makes wrong decisions in the hatred of the federal government. We are worried about the future of the children. Bilawal Zardari does not care about the education of the children of Sindh.”

Zaman added that the PTI would protest on every form on the issue of education. “What data does the Sindh government have that they dream of? We will not allow them to do injustice to any citizen or child of Karachi.”

He said that the Sindh government rejected a uniform curriculum, while the outdated curriculum had been running since 2007. The Sindh government wanted to break the backbone of education after the economy, and there was no other way but to revolt against the government, he said. “We cannot remain silent on the destruction of Sindh.”

On this occasion, the head of the Private School Association, Syed Tariq Shah, said the education of the province was being severely affected by the government, and our children were being deprived of education.

The meeting of the steering committee had decided to open educational institutions. Vaccination has been completed in more than 90 per cent of private educational institutions.

The requirement for parents to be vaccinated is beyond comprehension. Children all over the country are studying.

“Only in Sindh, children are being deprived of education,” said Sindh Assembly member Rabia Azfar Nizami. “As many as 90 per cent of school space has been rented. The private schools’ administrators have hardly been balancing their expenses.”

According to the lawmaker, there should be no ministry of education in Sindh, the decisions about education in Sindh are taken by the chief minister instead of the education minister, there is no education system in the interior of Sindh while now education is also being eliminated from urban areas, the board is given a grant of Rs.2 billion every year, but this grant has not been given to the education board for three years.

She said the mafia was using children to beg, and the chief minister remained the enemy of children.

JI, APML’s stance

Jamaat-e-Islami Karachi chief Hafiz Naeemur Rehman has strongly condemned the Sindh government’s decision of extending the closure of schools across the province.

“The Sindh government should abandon its double standard of imposing and lifting sanctions on educational institutes under the cover of Covid-19 pandemic,” Rehman said. “The provincial government should withdraw its decision of keeping the schools closed.

The attitude of the Sindh government towards education would not be accepted under any circumstances, and all schools should be reopened immediately. The schools had taken steps for the implementation of Covid-19 standard operation procedures (SOPs). The administrators of privately managed educational institutions had also assured the concerned authorities that the schools would be opened with 50 per cent attendance policy and with other guidelines.

The Sindh government was constantly destroying the teaching and learning process. If all businesses are running with the SOPs, then the education sector should also be allowed to work. Rehman said that the education sector was the most affected sector by Covid-19 pandemic.

Meanwhile, Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) Sindh chapter President Muhammad Tariq Hassan said that the Sindh government was depriving the children of the province of education by using Covid-19 as a pertext. It was a well-organised conspiracy of the government as there was no justification for the closure of educational institutions after vaccination. There was an urgent need for reopening of all educational institutions across Sindh.