KARACHI, July 8: Eleven vocational training centres, nine in the interior of Sindh and two in Karachi, established by the Directorate of Manpower and Training, Labour Department, with the financial assistance of the federal government and foreign aid, have been lying inoperative since the last five years due to the ban on recruitment.

Millions of rupees were spent on the construction of buildings and provision of machinery and other equipment, but all these centres have remained nonfunctional since 1997, as the required teaching and non-teaching staff could not be appointed due to a ban on recruitments.

Some buildings, including the Shikarpur and Khairpur centres, also lack basic facilities such as electricity, official sources said.

These vocational training centres are located in Shikarpur, Khairpur, Naushehro Feroz, Sanghar, Mirpur Khas, Rato Dero, Naudero, Larkana, Badin, Korangi and Jacob Lines in Karachi.

The Directorate of Manpower and Training is already running 21 Youth Vocational Training Centres and Technical Training Centres throughout the province, which also face acute shortage of teaching staff due to the same reason.

The eleven centres alone need about 271 men to make them operative, while overall shortage of staff for all the centres run by the directorate exceeds 500. These centres offer training facilities in five to nineteen different trades.

The matter was brought to the notice of the provincial minister for labour, transport and industries, Dewan Muhammad Yousuf Farooqui, who directed to make the new centres functional with the help of philanthropists, sources said, adding that in accordance with these directives, Centre Management Committees were formed and with whose help, computer classes have been started at two centres in Saghar and Naushehro Feroz. Similarly, Larkana centre has been made functional after transferring the required staff from other running centres.

As regards recruitment of the required staff, vacancies in Grade 11 and above have been referred to Sindh Public Service Commission, while a summary has been sent to the governor to seek special permission for recruitment in lower grades, sources said.—PPI