May 06, 2008	Tuesday	Rabi-us-Sani 29, 1429

KARACHI, May 5: Faculty members of DJ Sindh Government Science College have opposed the education department’s move for handing over of a part of the college’s sports ground to the works department of the city government and demanded cancellation of the order.

The demand came up at a meeting attended by all faculty members, including assistant professors, associate professors, lecturers and librarians, on Monday.

The meeting rejected the official move and demanded the cancellation of the order.

They said DJ Science College was the only college in the metropolis which provided a sports facility, adding that earlier the education department of the provincial government had tried to change the status of the ground and construct an education complex.

“The department has been making similar efforts for a long time under one pretext or another but such efforts failed to materialise because of the persistent resistance of students and the teachers’ community.”

Recently, during the tenure of former education minister Dr Shujaat Ali Baig, the department once again tried to take over the ground but unrest among the students of the college caused the plan to fall through, they said.

Shockingly, they said, the bureaucratic authorities in the education department unethically pressured the principal of the college to finalize the handing over the plot to the works department of the city government. This would deprive the students of their available sports facilities.—PPI