HYDERABAD, April 25: The Government Secondary Teachers Association (GSTA) Sindh observed a black day on Tuesday to protest against what they called illegal appointments of external examiners by the Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education (BISE), Hyderabad.

The teachers also staged a protest demonstration outside the press club. They carried placards and banners ins-

cribed with slogans against the board.

GSTA District President Zamir Khan said that the government was accusing teachers’ associations of destroying education while in reality the educational officers themselves were to blame for for a decay of the academic structure.

He alleged that BISE Hyderabad had completely ignored merit in the conduct of SSC examinations by appointing external examiners on political grounds.

This, he said, was promoting cheating and other malpractices at the exams centres about which the GSTA had written to Sindh governor, chief minister and other senior officers of Education Department but in vain.

The demo adopted several resolutions demanding the cancellation of appointment of all external examiners, end to political interference in the board’s affairs, BISE officials’ removal and inquiry against them.

The GSTA leaders warned that if the concerned department did rectify the wrong, the association might take extreme measure during the exams.

ANTI-TB step: Executive District Officer Health Dr Nazar Mohammad Junejo announced that the district nazim had released funds for the treatment of children who were suffering from tuberculosis (TB).

He said in a quarterly meeting on TB at the Director General Health Office on Monday that a team of TB specialists had been formed to prescribe anti-TB drugs for the children, which would be made available across the district.

District TB Coordinator Dr Ghanja Jatoi said that 13 per cent new TB positive cases had been reported during the current quarter but added that success ratio of treatment too had jumped from 66 per cent to 74 per cent.

WHO representative, Dr Nazeer Ahmed Shaikh said Sindh had performed remarkably well in curbing TB, while deputy director TB Control informed the meeting that DOTS method of treatment for TB patients had been introduced in all the hospitals of the province.