KARACHI, March 23: Political activism of teachers is perilous for education, hence the teacher community should avoid agitation-based methods for getting their problems resolved, said the Sindh Minister for Education and Literacy, Dr Hamida Khuhro, on Wednesday.

Talking to a delegation of the All Sindh Mosque Teachers Association that called on her, she said imparting education and literacy was a sacred duty and the teacher community was a respected class of society.

She said that teachers instead of ruining their noble profession with politics of protest and agitation should focus their potential on enhancing the endangered education standards in the province.

Dr Hamida assured the teachers that her department would take care of all their problems and grievances. She said she herself had served as a teacher and hence was striving for an honourable status for the teaching community in society.

In her opinion, “blackmailing and protest-oriented politics” of the teachers not only went against their academic status, but were also harmful for the education on the whole.

She said that protests, strikes, sit-ins and hunger strikes could never resolve problems. Issues can only be settled through dialogue, she said, adding that she, from day one, was ready for talks.

Dr Hamida said the Sindh province was famed for higher educational standards in the past, but now youths of the province were running from pillar to post in search of jobs, with what she called ‘paper degrees’ in their hands.

She regretted that most of the educated young people could not speak even one correct sentence of English, terming “teachers’ politics” responsible for the grim scenario.

The minister said a comprehensive teacher training programme had been initiated to enhance the standard of education. Headmasters were being imparted with training in the first phase.

She urged the teacher leaders to play their due role in the betterment of academic standards.

She assured the delegation that the quota for the heirs of the deceased teachers would be fully implemented during the recruitment of teachers. She said she would also try to fix some quota for the sons and daughters of teachers.

She said that contract-based teachers would be regularized and mosque schoolteachers would also be recruited on the posts of resource person, besides they would also be regularized by giving them the job of pesh imam job in their respective mosques.

The delegation thanked the education minister for her role in regularization of contract teachers. — PPI