KARACHI: The Sindh High Court has directed the provincial education authorities to expeditiously pursue the issues of absconding and ghost employees to their logical conclusion and weed out what it called all such transgressors from the education system.

The SHC also directed the secretary of the education department and director general of the Sindh Child Protection Authority to inform it about establishment of helplines and deployment of the Child Protection and Management Information System as well as the ongoing anti-beggary campaign.

A two-judge bench comprising Chief Justice Ahmed Ali M. Shaikh and Justice Yousuf Ali Sayeed issued such directives while hearing a set of petitions seeking implementation of the Sindh Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2013. The education secretary in his report stated that a plan had been prepared to decrease the number of out-of-school children.

However, he stated that initiatives of the departments were often impeded through litigation brought before the courts.

1,645 govt schoolteachers identified as ‘absconders’, education secy tells SHC

The bench noted that in the absence of proper measures to ensure the enrolment of students as well as their attendance and that of educators alike, the expenditure on equipment and infrastructure would be futile.

The education secretary submitted that 1,645 teachers had recently been identified as delinquent/absconders and 1,481 show-cause notices issued so far and such proceeding would be finalised by Dec 31.

He also submitted that the proceedings had been initiated against 45 ghost employees, who were shown as teachers and drawing salaries, but were actually otherwise gainfully employed as journalists.

The bench directed him to expeditiously pursue the detected matters to their logical conclusion in accordance with law and continue the process of detection to weed out all such transgressors from the system.

When the bench asked the secretary as to what modern means were being contemplated for recording the attendance of students and teachers and flagging truancy, he and the chief secretary stated that they were cognisant of such imperatives and acknowledge that a biometric attendance system was the need of the day.

They also sought time to prepare a proposal for development of such a system across the public school system along with an integrated information management system for logging attendance and flagging transgressions.

They assured the bench that a proper workable proposal would be placed before this Court on Dec 23, in this regard.

Published in Dawn, December 11th, 2022