LARKANA: Members of the Government Secondary Teachers Association (GSTA), Larkana district, observed a boycott of their duties as the education department put in place the biometric system to scrutinise its workers with a view to identify ghost employees and check absenteeism.

Education secretary Dr Fazlullah Pechuho formally inaugurated the system at a ceremony held in the Larkana district education office on Monday.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr Pechuho said the system was being introduced across Sindh starting from Larkana division. With the installation of the biometric equipment, verification of around 35,000 primary and secondary schools’ teachers posted in Larkana division would be carried out under this pilot project, he said.

Take a look: ‘40pc schoolteachers in Sindh are ghost employees’

Later, speaking to journalists at local press club, Dr Pechuho said under an agreement, World Bank had committed $66 million for the verification process.

The system would eventually be hooked to the National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra) network. He said that the data of around 24,000 primary school teachers (PSTs) and about 6,500 secondary school teachers (SSTs) would be scrutinised to see whether they were bona fide employees and whether they attended to their duties according to the prescribed rules.

In Larkana division alone, it would take six months or so to accomplish the task, he said, adding that World Bank would keep on releasing the approved amount in tranches periodically.

In reply to a question, the education secretary said basing on reports pouring in from Qambar-Shahdadkot, Kashmore-Kandhkot, Jacobabad and Ghotki districts, the data was being compiled. The photos and thumb-impressions of all employees would be saved in the system at Larkana and fed into the central data system in Karachi, he said.

He said expert IT professionals would be hired for feeding the data and monitor the system.

Mr Pachuho said he planned to inaugurate the system in Sukkur division on Tuesday. Responding to a question about GSTA’s protest over the introduction of the biometric system, he said it was a social welfare association, and not a workers’ union.

He said there was no logic in opposing the system but if GSTA came up with a positive approach, its views would be heard positively.

Published in Dawn, May 12th, 2015

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