KARACHI: Private nursery set up on school premises
By Our Staff Reporter
KARACHI, June 3: Maintaining nurseries along the roads through government resources is a common sight in the city, but less is known about nurturing flowers and ornamental plants (floriculture) within government school premises for economic gains.
A visit to the Govt Girls’ Primary School, sector 11-J, North Karachi, revealed that individuals are undertaking nursery business with the “approval of the concerned education officers”. There were about two thousands seasonal flowering plants, evergreen and deciduous shrubs and trees — all produced and maintained dedicatedly with no cost bearing on the persons involved in the business.
They have continued supply of water and electricity in the name of the school and have to pay nothing on this account to the government or the school, interviews showed.
The owner of the nursery claimed that he earned little through the business, and was returning enormously to the school and the community by one way or other. “I am helping the school administration beautifying its premises, while sometimes people from the education department and other institutions also borrow flower plants for different functions in the vicinity,” said Ghulam Murtaza, the owner, who maintained that the nursery kept changing hands.
The nursery-holder mentioned that similar nurseries existed in other schools in the area as well, and he did not think that he was committing any crime. “I have purchased this nursery some half a year back from another person,” he claimed.
“In fact, we do work as watchmen too, as most of the schools lacked watch-and-ward staff and boundary walls,” the gardener said, adding that the night watchman of the school was a rare visitor to the site and in the absence of proper vigilance the school premises had been an ideal den for unscrupulous people and addicts.
According to area people, the primary school nursery was doing a roaring business. Retailers do visit the nursery every day and take away plants for selling them in the vicinity.
“I have an investment of over Rs70,000, but getting very nominal money in return and that’s why I am looking for another site along a major street or road in the area.” School headmistress was not available for comment.
The area people said that the nursery had been operative for about two years, but neither the school administration nor the educational officers of the area cared for the losses being caused to the school land or misuse of amenities provided for educational purposes.
