LARKANA, Jan 30: The Sindh Professors and Lecturers Association has said it will not accept any change in the academic calendar.
Speaking at a press conference here on Sunday, SPLA president Prof Manzoor Hussain Chishti said the association supported the start of the session from April 1.
He claimed that the change in academic calendar would negatively affect students' education because they would not be able to get admission in other provinces where the session started from April. If the change in calendar was inevitable, it should be introduced in the whole country, he said.
He said the education steering committee at a meeting in December had decided not to change the academic session but the decision was later changed at the Jan 18 meeting.
Mr Chishti alleged that contracts of publishing textbooks were given to favourites of education officials. They said the contractors were not able to make textbooks available in the market in April and that was why the schedule of examinations was changed.
He said the SPLA's executive council at its meeting on Saturday had observed that the change of schedule was impracticable. He said the association had also opposed privatization of the Saint Joseph College for Women and the Saint Patrick College.
Criticizing the Sindh government for delaying promotions of lecturers and assistant professors, Mr Chishti said a departmental promotion committee meeting on Oct 15, 2004, had recommended 300 lecturers for promotion.
Similarly, he added, the PC for promotion of 150 associate professors was lying with the chief secretary since October last. He regretted that 10 teachers whose promotion was due retired before their elevation.
He alleged that funds to the tune of millions of rupees earmarked for training of teachers had been misappropriated. He opposed induction of retired personnel in educational boards.
He said at present, chairmen of the Board of Secondary Education, Karachi, Larkana, Hyderabad, Sukkur and Mirpurkhas chapters of the Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education, and the Sindh Textbook Board were either retired personnel or outsiders.
