Sindh government schools re-open after summer break

Govt schools re-open today. Some schools' infrastructures not fit for resumption of academic activities
Karachi, Aug 01: After a long and eventful summer break, government schools in Sindh will start their annual session from Saturday (today). However, schools falling under the private sector will open from Monday, as they do not have classes scheduled on Saturdays.

There are a total of 3,672 schools in the public sector, out of which 2,810 educational centres provide primary education. Education is imparted to males in 326 secondary schools, while 228 schools provide secondary education to female students. Local bodies look after 308 schools, and most of these schools offer education in two shifts, morning and afternoon.

Even though the schools have been reopened, not much has been done to improve the condition of the school buildings during the summers, especially after torrential rains lashed the city and some other areas of the province in July.

It has been learnt that classrooms of some schools wreak of a pungent smell, as cesspools have developed in the surrounding areas and have not been cleared thus far. The furniture of classrooms has also deteriorated, while water which collected in playgrounds and compounds has not been removed either.

For instance, the playground of the Government Boys Egro-technical School located in Shah Faisal Colony No 2, is still inundated by rainwater, and remains useless for the purpose of holding classes. Although the classrooms of the school are in a better condition as compared to other parts, the windows and doors of the rooms have been badly affected by the rain. The roof of the Technical Government Secondary School, located in Azizabad No 2, was also damaged by the rains, with some leaks still present at some points.

The same situation was reported from Pak-Land Girls Secondary School, Karachi Academy Boys Secondary and Delhi Extension Boys Primary School also situated in Azizabad No 2. These schools are situated within a building and operate in different shifts, it was learned.

Interestingly, around 100 of the affected people from the infamous 'fire-cracker' incident, which took place on June 24, 2009, were allowed to temporarily stay at the Karachi Academy School. A makeshift arrangement was made to help the victims, however despite the fact that classes are about to resume, there are still seven or eight families occupying the upper floor of the building. Sources said that there has been no allocation of extra funds to help school managements to overcome these types of disaster issues.

They said that the only resource available to them was the City District Government Karachi (CDGK), and the schools often ask them for help, which they usually provided. There are 36 schools which have been declared 'Model School' by the CDGK, and a committee for monitoring and improvement of schools has been specially designed to look after all matters related to these schools.

Sources said that public sector schools situated in Keamari, Baldia, Korangi, Orangi, Landhi, SITE, and Gadap Town need the immediate attention of the authorities concerned, otherwise it will be difficult to resume educational activities in these schools, let alone providing quality education.

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Spectre of 'ghost students' haunts education system
Karachi: An alarming new trend of corruption has cropped up in the city which involves the registration of 'ghost (non-existent or imaginary) students' at public sector schools in Karachi.

There are a number of schools in the city whose buildings exist, staff are deputed with regular salaries, but there are no students. Ghost students are shown in official documents at such schools. The authorities concerned register 'ghost students' in order to avail monetary benefits which they can get only if they have a certain number of students registered at schools in their jurisdictions.

The ghost students also help the managements of the schools to protect the jobs of their staff members by showing them as being 'on duty'.

Recently the School Management Committees (SMC) funds, amounting to Rs131.59 million, were released for the year 2005-06 for primary, secondary and higher secondary public-sector schools, functioning under the supervision of the City District Government Karachi (CDGK).

Rs3.5 million have already been released and distributed as SMC funds to higher secondary and secondary schools. Now the authorities concerned will distribute Rs96.5 million amongst primary and lower secondary schools in 18 towns in Karachi.

The allocated amount will be distributed in the primary and lower secondary schools as Rs210 per student.

Investigation conducted has revealed that there are dozens of primary schools in Keamari Town alone, where ghost students are enrolled to get money (such as the SMC funds) and aid which is given by international donor agencies such as the World Bank (WB).

Interestingly, there are 38 primary schools in Union Council (UC)-8 of Keamari Town, which comprises remote villages which are commonly known as Goths. This is the largest number of primary schools in a UC in Karachi.

According to an official document which was released recently, around 3,000 students are enrolled at these 38 schools. However, very few students — no more than a couple of dozen — are actually getting education in these schools, it was learned.

The schools of UC-8 where a great number of ghost students are enrolled include Government Boys Primary School (GBPS) Arab Goth, Katoo Jorak, Haji Ali Muhammad Goth, Pir Bux Goth, Hawkesbay, Lashkari Village, Ramzan Goth, Sahoo Muhallah, Mola Bux Brohi, Faqeer Muhammad No 2, Haji Muhammad No 1, Mouladad etc. All these schools are GBPS.

The investigation conducte revealed some other schools of Keamari Town where ghost students are enrolled. There are no students in GBPS Muhammadi No 1 where 165 students have been shown in the official documents. Likewise, there is not a single student in GBPS Noor Ghas Bandar No 2 whereas student enrollment has been shown as 38 here.

Similarly, GBPS Islamia Ali Islamia which is a school of UC-4 has no actual student against the stated 55 students.

The official documents reveal that GBPS Shahi No 1 has 165 students whereas there is no student at all on the ground. The same is the case with Shahi No 2 where 38 ghost students are enrolled.

The number of students shown in GBPS Gulzar-e-Madina is 114 and the school is not functioning for the last two months.

Likewise schools such as GBPS Veherabad, New Mujahid and a few others don't have any student but dozens of ghost students are enrolled in those schools. There are some other schools of Keamari Town where fake enrolment of students has been mentioned in the papers against the factual position.

Sources in the education department said that the government has a policy of appointing one teacher for 25 students. However, despite such instructions there are many schools in the city where dozens of teachers are appointed over smaller number of students.

"I have never heard of 'ghost students'," District Officer (DO), Male Elementary, Karim Bux Burdi, said. "There are ghost schools or ghost employees but ghost student is an entirely a new term for me."

He added, however, that the education department had adopted a strict policy against the fake enrolment of students. He said that action could be taken against education department officials who were found involved in the fake enrolment of the students. The official concerned may even be suspended, he said.

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SPELT celebrates Silver Jubilee
Karachi: The Society of Pakistan English Language Teachers (SPELT) celebrated the silver jubilee of its formation at a function organised at a local hotel on Friday.

Formed in 1984, Society of Pakistan English Language Teachers is a voluntary, non-profit organisation, with the aim of developing English language teaching standards and skills in Pakistan. Prof. Zakia Sarwar, founding member of SPELT, revisited her journey in SPELT and thanked all those who have been part of SPELT and have contributed to SPELT over 25 years.

The speech was followed by a candle-lighting ceremony, where all members of the audience lit candles to cherish the success of SPELT. After the ceremony, there were brief presentations by the founding members and coordinators of SPELT, each of them briefly narrating their joyous journey.

Three guest speakers - renowned journalist and a documentary film-maker Beena Sarwar, Indus Research Centre Director Sadeqa Salahudin, and renowned writer Dr Tariq Rahman – then shed light on the efforts of SPELT.

"It is amazing that an organisation runs totally on volunteers, and for such an organisation to survive for 25 years requires real courage and commitment, which all members of the organisation have shown", Sarwar said.

Salahudin pointed out that SPELT is one of the few societies which have succeeded in improving teaching skills in rural Pakistan.

The event concluded with a dance performance by students of Sheema Kermani to pay tribute to SPELT. The News

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