UMERKOT, March 4: Shortage of subject specialists, delay in promotion of high school teachers to subject specialists, college lecturers’ preference to opt for administrative posts and a virtual ban on new appointments have imperilled future of more than 10,000 students in the district.

Of the 40 sanctioned seats for subject specialists in 12 higher secondary schools, only 14 teachers have been recruited. Of these, only eight are working in schools and six have moved to administrative posts, according to sources in the education department.

HSTs Abdul Qayoom Qaimkhani, Khemchand Bajeer and a fairly large number of others who wished not be named said that teachers had not been promoted since 2006 when the departmental promotion committee met and upgraded three HSTs of the district to subject specialists.

According to seniority list, they said, their promotions were overdue in 2006 but they were denied their right. Another meeting of the DPC was held in July 2008 which made promotions all over the province except Umerkot, which was apparently punished for being a stronghold of an opposition party.

Not a single teacher was upgraded in the district. Later, in October 2008 the secretary of education called files of senior teachers but made no further move, they said.

They said the devolution of DPC’s functions to divisional level in the wake of enforcement of new local government system, would severely dent senior teachers’ demand for promotion.

Mohammad Ayoub, a student in Higher Secondary School, Mehndre Jo Par, said there was no subject specialist in the school. The students who were only interested in getting a certificate or whose parents could not afford sending them to private schools got admission in government schools, he said.

The principal of Umerkot Degree College, Abdul Qayoom Kunbhar, said that hard-working and meritorious students preferred to get admission to the college because of a lack of teachers in higher secondary schools while the college lecturers preferred administrative posts. Three professors of physics and English had accepted posts in the district education department, he said.

Giving details, he said that in 2005, assistant professor of physics Ashraf Dars opted for an administrative post on political grounds. He was now serving as assistant district officer of education (elementary), he said.

Dars was soon followed by Jan Mohammad Nohri, assistant professor of physics, who left the college in the same year to take over the job of executive district officer of education in Arbab Ghulam Rahim’s government. He was now working as district education officer in the Sindh Education Management Information System, he said.

Mr Nohri was also in-charge district officer of education (academic and training). Ghulam Mustafa Soomro who was assistant professor of English was now serving as district officer of education (DOE) of secondary and deputy DOE of academic, said the principal.

Students suffered the most when professors were transferred to administrative posts, he said.

The principal of Government Higher Secondary School, Umerekot, Allah Bachayo Kunbhar, said the school, upgraded in 1995, had three subject specialists, two for English and one for Sindhi.

Of the three, two were on ‘study leave’ while other posts were vacant. The school was running without a proper building and laboratory with total enrolment of 137 students, he said.

The principal of Government Higher Secondary School, Chhore, Saifullah Nohri, said that there was no subject specialist in the school which was upgraded in 1995-96 and had a total of 328 students.

DOE Ghulam Mustafa Soomro admitted the DPC meeting had not been held for several years. They were directed by the education department sometime ago to submit a list of required subject specialists, which they did but the department made no further progress on the matter, he said. The department again directed them to submit a seniority list and it was widely understood it would soon take steps to promote the senior most teachers but again it followed no action, he said.

He admitted there was severe shortage of subject specialists, which had made it very difficult for schools’ administrations to run classes. “In spite of this, when the few subject specialists in high schools and college opt for administrative posts, it ruins students future,” said Mr Soomro who himself was assistant professor of English before accepting the DOE post. He said that district’s education department had been in correspondence with the high-ups for years, requesting them to fill vacant posts in higher secondary schools.

According to data shared by the education department, from 1994 to date, 12 high schools have been upgraded to higher secondary schools.

According to annual census, 7,000 students are studying in the 12 higher secondary schools and 3,000 are enrolled in the college.