KARACHI   -  The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Tuesday warned to take contempt of court action against the provincial government and ordered the relevant authorities to give promotions to lecturers across the Sindh province within 20 days.

A two-member bench of the SHC headed by Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar and comprising Justice Amjad Ali Sahito heard a petition filed by Sindh Professors and Lecturers Association (SPLA) against the Sindh government for not giving promotions and time scale to over 12,000 professors and lecturers. The court ordered the provincial government to grant promotions to lecturers of Grade 17 and 18 across Sindh within 20 days and it warned to take contempt of court action against provincial chief secretary and secretary colleges if promotions and time scales are not granted to them.

The secretary colleges told the court that the Sindh government had prepared a policy regarding promotions and time scale. “Give us 15 days for completing paperwork for data of Grade 17 to 18 lecturers,” the secretary pleaded the court. “You (lecturers) are demanding promotions and time scale but what would you say about the standard of education,” Justice Amjad Ali Sahito inquired from them.

Justice Sahito remarked that look at the results of collages in Pakistan, standards of education will be identified after observing the situation of Sindh colleges and their academic results. He maintained that the standards of education had declined and lecturers were not ready to educate the students.

The secretary collages stated that they were ready to give promotions and time-scale to lecturers, but they must perform their duty with the responsibility to educate the children.

The counsel of SPLA admitted that educational standard in Sindh is not improved. The standard of education has dropped so much, 2,500 seats in the dental college are not fulfilled, Justice Amjad Satho remarked. The counsel of SPLA argued that teachers will take efforts for better educational standards in Sindh. The government lawyer argued that the matter of time scale and promotions had been forwarded to the Sindh cabinet while the summary would be forwarded to the CM in the next phase. Later, the court ordered the government to grant promotions to the educators within 20 days and adjourned the hearing.