THE Government Secondary Teachers Association (GSTA) has become an existential threat to quality education in Sindh, with documented evidence revealing systemic failures. A 2023 Sindh Education Department audit exposed that 42 per cent of GSTA-affiliated teachers in Karachi division maintain attendance below 60pc, compared to just 18pc among non-union teachers. The 2022 matricula-tion board scandal implicated 127 GSTA members across eight districts for operating organised cheating rackets, with bribes ranging from Rs5,000 to as high as Rs50,000 per student.

More alarmingly, 2021 Anti-Corruption Establishment data shows that 68pc of harassment complaints against GSTA members were dismissed due to union interference in investigative processes.

Proven solutions exist if the political will is there. Punjab’s five-year probation policy for new teachers has successfully limited union influence during critical formative years. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s 2019 decision to empower headmasters with transfer authority reduced teacher absenteeism by 37pc. Sindh’s own biometric attendance system in colleges has achieved 92pc compliance, demonstrating the viability of technological solutions. The estab-lishment of special education courts could break the cycle of compromised investi- gations that currently protects offenders.

With 2.8 million students trapped in this broken system, Sindh faces a clear choice: continue appeasing a union or implement reforms to rescue the system.

Munawar Ali
Khairpur Mirs

Published in Dawn, June 20th, 2025