10 February 2004	Tuesday	18 Zilhaj 1424

KARACHI, Feb 9: Sindh Education Minister Irfanullah Khan Marwat has reiterated that all the vacancies in the Sindh Education department will be filled on merit and that no quota is reserved for any one.

Mr Marwat, in a press statement on Monday, said the government was spending huge amounts on educational institutions and on their teachers to improve the standard of education in the province, so the teachers were expected to focus on their duty without indulging in politics.

He warned that strict disciplinary action would be taken against those who would try to blackmail authorities by observing strikes and boycotts of classes. He said teachers' 'genuine' demands had been sent for implementation to the Education secretary, but added that the demand for reserving 25 per cent quota for teachers' children was not accepted.

The minister regretted that teachers of public educational institutions were not paying due attention to students, making the people reluctant to enrol their children at these institutions.

He warned that negligence, on the part of teachers, in performing their duties would not be tolerated now, adding that such teachers would be sacked. Mr Marwat informed that a monitoring team had been formed, which would visit different schools, and on the base of its findings, suitable action would be taken against those officers who would not visit schools, or fail to show satisfactory annual results. - PPI