College students’ difficulties

PARENTS and students have expressed dismay over an inordinate delay in a solution to problems being faced by different colleges functioning in Sialkot district.

The district government and the Education Department have so far not taken any practical step to tackle the shortage of teaching staff, insufficient classrooms and lack of other facilities.

According to a survey, the Post-Graduate College for Women, Sialkot, has 5,000 students on its rolls. Due to the shortage of classrooms and inadequate accommodation in hostels, students are facing difficulties.

The Government Murray College is also facing problems for long, but the authorities have done nothing for their solution. Major problems include shortage of classrooms and the need of immediate repair of it dilapidated building.

The survey revealed that the Government Boys Degree College, Daska, has 2,000 students on its rolls, but the building is not sufficient to accommodate them despite the addition of eight classrooms.

Another important issue is the shortage of teaching staff. The sanctioned strength is about six teachers, but certain departments are either without lecturers or have one or two lecturers in place of four or five. There is no lecturer for teaching economics, Persian, Pakistan studies, history and geography. There are six posts of English teachers, but only one lecturer is available. For economics, there are four sanctioned posts. Three ad hoc lecturers have been sacked while the fourth one has got himself transferred. Resultantly, no lecturer is left to teach this subject. Likewise, there are eight sanctioned posts for Urdu. Two ad hoc lecturers have been removed while three others have been transferred. There are now only three lecturers to teach Urdu. Not a single teacher for Persian, Pakistan studies, history, geography and economics is available.

Daska college principal Mohammed Ramzan Cheema told Dawn that he brought this state of affairs to the notice of the Education highups but no action had yet been taken in this regard. Social circles appealed to the chief minister to look into the matter and fill the vacant posts immediately to save the future of hundreds of students. As the college is without a hall, examinations are conducted in classrooms and corridors.

The Government College for Women, Daska, is also facing shortage of classrooms. There is no separate block for the students of home economics. There is an urgent need for the construction of some classrooms and a hostel. The number of girl students has been increasing, but teaching facilities remain insufficient. The same position has been witnessed at the Sambrial girls college.

Surprisingly the Government Commercial College, Sialkot, is functioning in a building in the Sialkot Fort which is even smaller than a primary school.

The survey revealed that the Metal Works Institute was established in 1932. It has been working well and now deserves to be upgraded to degree level. Educational institutions in various parts of Pasrur are being run in rented buildings and continually shift from one place to another, creating difficulties for the students.

The building of the Government High School No 2, Pasrur, is insufficient for the growing number of students. The school can easily be shifted to the Elementary College building which has been lying vacant in the absence of admission to this institution for the last many years. The Government Degree College for Boys, Pasrur, has no arrangement for teaching biology. People from all walks of life have urged the Education Department to prepare a comprehensive plan for a solution to the problems faced by the educational institutions of the area.

The government has approved MA classes in the Government Degree College for Women, Daska. It should think of upgrading the Boys Degree College to post graduate level as well.

The government has finally approved the establishment of an industrial zone for tanneries costing Rs90 million in Sialkot.

The proposed tanneries zone would be developed on 300 acres, sources say. As many as 248 tanneries of different sizes are functioning in and around Sialkot. Of them, nine are large, 79 medium and 160 small. As soon as the development of the zone is completed, all of them will be shifted there.

The step is being taken to check the growing menace of pollution caused by tanneries. The Punjab government will provide 75 per cent seed money in interest-free loan whereas the local business community will contribute the remaining 25 per cent.

The project will introduce efficient measures for improving the degraded environment of the area. It will also improve the living and working conditions of the people of Sialkot. The project will also bring better technology for scientific treatment of effluents and waste and sludge management.