SIALKOT
Out of 22 public sector colleges in Sialkot, only two colleges have librarians while the others including Govt Murray College Sialkot here have been waiting for professions for the library services for a many years, it is learnt.
Govt Murray College has global fame of being the alma mater of the Poet of the East Allama Iqbal and Faiz Ahmed Faiz. A long period of 19 has passed but the Allama Iqbal Library of the Govt Murray College has been waiting for the professional.
At the college, a junior clerk has been performing the additional duties of librarian with the help of an attendant there. It has more than 42,000 books, which are getting ruinedThe junior clerk-turned-librarian, Muhammad Sadique, said that it was very difficult for the two persons to handle the library affairs properly and to deal the thousands of students of the college.
The college management had already brought the situation into the notice into the notice of the officials concerned but no librarian has yet been appointed there. Its building has not yet been whitewashed from outside since long due to which it had been presenting a very miserable look.
When contacted, the official of Colleges Department said that there were total 22 government boys and girls’ colleges in Sialkot district, out of which, only two colleges namely Govt Postgraduate College for Women Daska and Govt Boys Degree College Daska have the librarians.
The official added that no recruitment of the librarians had yet been made by the provincial government in Sialkot district’s all the government colleges since 1996. The situation shows the interest of the local elected representatives in promotion of quality education and solving the prolonged perturbing problems of the government colleges in Sialkot, Daska, Sambrial and Pasrur tehsils here.
Local political, business, religious and educational circles have strongly criticised the government, and said that there is no importance of colleges’ library in the eyes of the government. They said that it should be an eye opener and point of grave concern for every one that no appointment of any librarian has yet been made in Sialkot district’s all the government colleges by the Punjab government since 1996.
They said that the libraries have almost lost their importance in the government colleges. Meanwhile, the thousands of the students of all the government colleges and their parents urged Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif to ensure early appointment of librarians in the colleges.