KARACHI: 50 per cent students yet to get free textbooks
KARACHI, July 20: Almost 50 per cent of schoolchildren studying in city government schools in Karachi have not yet received free textbooks, as half of the 567,000 students enrolled at city public schools did not report on July 9 and 10 at their respective schools to collect the textbooks.
The City District Government Karachi's (CDGK) education department had asked schoolchildren to report at their schools to receive the textbooks on July 9 and 10, which were to be distributed among them in April this year.
According to an official of the CDGK education department, some schoolchildren go to other provinces with their parents to spend summer vacations, while some of the absent could not be informed regarding the distribution of textbooks.
Distribution of the free textbooks started on July 9 on the directives of City Nazim Naimatullah Khan, which were then distributed under the supervision of nazim's Advisor on Education Nasim Siddiqui.
He maintained that the city nazim had pledged to distribute over three million textbooks among 567,000 children in the city in two days, but owing to "unavoidable circumstances", only half of them could get these books.
Meanwhile, no progress has been made by the CDGK's education department in finding out the actual culprits behind the reported embezzlement and selling of the said textbooks in the market.
An inquiry committee was formed by Naimatullah Khan to probe into the reported sale of textbooks and present a report within 24 hours. "We have received reports of the incident in which ADO Education (Female) Gulshan Town Saeeda Kazi's Suzuki van was used for shifting textbooks. The said official said her vehicle was used without her permission by her driver," Naseem Siddiqui informed.
He, however, expressed his dissatisfaction over the report, saying the city nazim had asked DCO Karachi Mir Hussain Ali to present a detailed report of the incident. "That report is due within the next 48 hours. And after receiving it, we will be in a position to fix the responsibility and take action against the actual culprits," he added.
He conceded that no survey was launched yet by the CDGK's education department to check whether textbooks, to be distributed among students, were still being sold in the market or not. - PPI
