KARACHI  - The 129-year old library of Diwan Dayaram Jethamal Sindh Govt. Science College, known as DJ Sindh Govt. Science College, is in dire need of attention, as the library is being run without professional staff for the last seven years, The Nation has learned.
The unavailability of librarian, assistant librarian and other professional library staff is causing immense trouble to the college students and teachers, a senior professor of the college said.
He said that the shortage of college fund has forced the college administration to squeeze money on the maintenance of the college building, library, and purchase of new books.
“New books are not fpund anywhere in the library due to the shortage of the college funds. Conversely, the unavailability of professional workers at library is causing great damage to books and other system. The college building, where the library exists, also needs proper attention of concerned authorities as the structure of the building wearing down despite being declared as national asset,” he said.
It is pertinent to mention here that it was earlier inaugurated as Sindh Arts College by Lord Reay, Governor of Bombay, on January 17, 1882, the college was renamed DJ Science College upon completion of the present structure in 1887. Located in the heart of old Karachi, the foundation stone for this college was laid in 1882, by Lord Dufferin, Viceroy of India. The college is named after Diwan Dayaram Jethmal, its main benefactor. Upon the creation of Pakistan, in the sixty-first year of it's existence, DJ Singh College was formally handed over to the Sindh Government in June 1984.
The Sindh Government took over all the buildings, assets and other investments from the Sindh Collegiate Board. These buildings were the main DJ College building, the Annex, the Law College Building, the Commerce College building the Engineering College building, Hostel and the DJ College Gymkhana. The DJ Sindh College was re-christened as DJ Sindh Government Science College.
Talking on the issue, Professor Iftikhar Azmi, President Sindh Professors and Lecturers Association (SPLA), Karachi, said that there is no doubt the century-old library is being destroyed due to ill policies of former Sindh Education Minister Pir Mazharul Haq. He said that the former education minister had decreased the college fund, which is collected from students at the time of admission. He maintained that Pir Mazharul Haq had once provided books to the colleges but from that time to then books are not provided to the public colleges. He said that the provincial government was not taking interests into the matters of college education.