KARACHI, May 31: The Sindh Professors and Lecturers’ Association (SPLA) on Thursday expressed serious concern over the inactivity of the Sindh Teachers’ Foundation (STF) and demanded of the government to reactivate this vital institution at the earliest so as to help raising education standard in the province.

A high-level meeting of the SPLA was held here with its president Prof Syed Riaz Ahsan in the chair. It discussed in detail matter pertaining to the STF, the Sindh College Teachers’ Academy and the College of Education.

The meeting was told that in 1987 after the struggle of teachers and their protest long march from Moro to Karachi, the then provincial education minister, Akhtar Ali G Qazi, had announced to establish STF and had earmarked Rs10million.

The meeting was told that on the demand of the SPLA in 1994 the College Teachers' Academy was formed, with its head office in Hyderabad.

The SPLA leaders further noted that in the past, three colleges of education used to work under the Directorate of Education, but later due to mismanagement in the provincial education department and ill-conceived policies of the government they also became non-functional.

The meeting was told that the Sindh education department in 2001 handed over the STF, College Teachers' Academy and College of Education to the Bureau of Curriculum. Later, the three institutions were given to the PIT Nawabshah and when the affair at the PIT deteriorated the three institutions were again tossed back to Bureau of Curriculum.

It demanded of the Sindh governor, chief minister and chief secretary that the STF and the College Teachers’ Academy be reactivated and those involved in bungling of their precious assets be arrested and punished.

The SPLA also demanded that the past status of the College of Education be restored and it should be shifted from the Bureau of Curriculum to the Director-General College Education, Sindh.—PPI