KARACHI - Portraying a grim picture of the state of education in the province, the Sindh Assembly lawmakers on Tuesday said the education system was continuously deteriorating despite spending huge funds.
The House, which commenced at 11:00am with Speaker Agha Siraj Durrani in the chair, witnessed token walkout by the MQM lawmakers over the arrest and torture as well as alleged extrajudicial killings of their workers.
MQM’s deputy parliamentary leader Khawaja Izharul Hassan, on point of order, drew attention towards the death of their party worker Adil, who according to him, was arrested last week on February 8 and fell victim of police torture.
MQM lawmaker alleged at least 10 workers of his party fell victim to extrajudicial killing after commencement of targeted operation in the City.
Replying to the MQM’s concerns, Information Minister Sharjeel Memon assured the opposition benches that a three-member high level committee is probing the matter in a transparent manner and whoever found guilty will be treated as criminal.
Meanwhile, after question-hour, the House spent discussion on one agenda of adjournment motion on the deteriorating education system in the province.
The adjournment motion was submitted by the Mehtab Akbar Rashdi of PML-F and Sardar Ahmed of MQM from the opposition benches, pertaining to an urgent and public importance of deteriorating education standard in Sindh especially in rural areas.
The adjournment motion was based on the Annual Status of Education Report survey 2013 released recently has shown that Sindh has worst students’ learning, outcomes, enrollment as well as school facilities in the country.
Sharing the worst form of poor learning system, Rashdi went on to say that even graduate people are unable to write one application for job.
She said it was not a secret now that jobs in education especially the teaching staff were given on political basis in Sindh and this practice was still continued in the province.
Citing presence of 64 schools in a single village in Thar, she said the schools were opened without planning and requirement.
She disclosed that seminaries are on the rise in Sindh without any check and balance. She added the parents send their children there due to increasing poverty.
She emphasised on the government to review the teachers’ union and restrict their activities. MQM’s parliamentary leader Sardar Ahmed said Sindh was even lower than Fata in students’ learning in the schools. “We may go lower than Balochistan as improvement in education system is not witnessing despite increase in the annual budget of education every year.”
He cited that allocation of budget for education sector was Rs5.5 billion in 2008-09 which has been increased to Rs121 billion in the current fiscal of 2013-14 but there are still no signs of improvement.
MQM’s parliamentary leader suggested diverting the development budget for improving the existing education system by ensuring missing facilities in the schools. He strongly suggested implementation on the compulsory free education for children in the province. He also proposed discussion on the deterioration of education.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Dr Sikandar Mandhro and PML-N’s parliamentary leader Irfanullah Marwat also supported the suggestion. They said the MPAs should actively work to ensure visit to their constituencies to reopen the closed schools as well as ensuring the attendance of teachers.
PTI’s Khurram Sher Zaman said even teachers do not go to teach in public schools in posh area of Defence, Karachi.
Other members including Bilqees Mukhtar of MQM, PPP’s Ghulam Shah Jillani, Khairunisa Mughal and others also spoke on the adjournment motion.
Later, the Speaker while advising the lawmakers to come with flowers on the Valentine’s Day adjourned the proceedings till February 14.