SIALKOT: For around 19 years the Allama Iqbal Library of Govt Murray College here has been waiting for a librarian. The college is popular for being the alma mater of Poet of the East Allama Iqbal and Faiz Ahmed Faiz.

A junior clerk was assigned additional duties of a librarian and given an attendant. The library has over 42,000 books resting in crumbling shelves. The new shelves are lying empty.

Acting librarian Muhammad Siddique told Dawn it is very difficult for him and his assistant to handle the library and deal with thousands of students.

The college management apprised officials concerned of the provincial College Education Department of the critical situation, but no librarian has been appointed yet. The building has not been whitewashed for a long time due to which it appears dreary.

When contacted, officials of the college department said there were 22 government boys and girls colleges in the district, out of which only two in Daska -- Govt Postgraduate College for Women and Govt Boys Degree College – have librarians. They added no librarian has been recruited by the provincial government in any other government college in the district since 1996.

This alarming situation shows how interested local elected representatives are to promote quality education and solve problems of colleges in Sialkot, Daska, Sambrial and Pasrur tehsils. Local political, business, religious and educational circles have strongly criticised the provincial government and said the government does not consider college libraries important.

They further said it is a point of grave concern that no librarian has been appointed in the district’s government colleges for 19 years.

Meanwhile, thousands of students of government colleges of the district and their parents urged Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, Gujranwala Division Commissioner Khawaja Shamail Ahmed and District Coordination Officer Nadeem Sarwar to ensure early appointment of qualified librarians in colleges as early as possible.

Published in Dawn, October 13th, 2014