HYDERABAD, Oct 24: The fate of around 238 employees of the Education Works Department hangs in the balance as they have been transferred from their parent department — the Directorate of Engineering Works Education — to the newly-created “Works and Services Department” but the latter was not ready to allow them to join the new department in its various sections for inexplicable reasons.

This has created great unrest among them as they wanted to know how they would be able to continue their duties without any clarification from the secretary of the Education Department regarding it.

Inquiries by Dawn revealed that following a decision of the provincial cabinet, the secretary, Finance Department, had informed in writing, regarding “budgetary measures for financial year 2001-2002 approved by the provincial cabinet”, to the secretary, Education Department, on July 5 that the provincial cabinet had decided to carry out the restructuring of “Works and Service Department” including merging of three offices of the Housing Cell (Housing and Town Planning), Engineering Organization (Education Works), and Directorate Town Planning and its offices in the Works and Services Department.

The decision seemed to have been taken under the devolution plan for the district government with the result that the provincial set up of the Education Works Department had been abolished.

The secretary, Finance, Sindh, informed the secretary, Education, that it had been decided that the administrative control of all the three offices had been given to the secretary, Works and Services Department, which was hitherto known as the C&W.

In the wake of this decision, more than 238 employees of the director of Education Works, based in Hyderabad, from five offices were transferred to the areas department of the C&W. These employees were transferred from the offices of the Education Works-II to the Building Department Thatta, from the Education Works Kotri to the C&W Mithi, from the Education Works Shahdadpur to the C&W Nawabshah, the Education Works Larkana-II to the C&W Ghotki, and 18 employees were transferred to the Executive District Officers Works and Services.

Sources claimed that all the 238 employees tried to join their assignment in the new sections of the Works and Services Department but so far had not been allowed to join their duties by the officials of the Works and Services Department or the C&W. The total strength of the Education Works employees is 1,925.