KARACHI, Nov 7: The city government is unhappy with the ongoing process of denationalization or restoration of educational institutions to private parties in the city, said official sources.

While the Sindh government is sticking to its decision of denationalization of educational institutions, the Nazim of the Karachi city government, Naimatullah Khan, who has been strongly opposing the idea at public forums and meetings with delegations of teachers and students, has now written a strong- worded letter to the provincial government.

According to sources in the government, in a recent letter to the provincial education secretary Mr Khan maintained that the policy of denationalization or restoration of educational institutions was not only against the interest of teachers and students, but was also not in the interest of the people of Karachi. The Nazim urged the secretary education to place the matter at the forthcoming meeting of the cabinet for review or cancellation of the policy.

The Sindh cabinet had decided in August to return all the nationalized educational institutions, upon application, to their original owners or genuine successors, within three years. In this regard the education department has prepared a proforma, that included certain requirements to be fulfilled by the applicants desiring for handing over of the buildings to them.

Sources in the education department said so far the government had received about 30 applications for denationalization, mostly from missionary bodies or community organizations. The government had been requested to restore educational institutions such as Sir Syed College, St Joseph’s College, St Patrick’s College, Adamjee College, Raunaq-i-Islam College, Delhi College and Aisha Bawany College to their managing committees/owners.

The city Nazim, in his letter, has pointed out to the education secretary that a number of teachers delegations had called on him on the issue of denationalization, and they had claimed that they would be badly affected if the government’s decision was implemented. Teachers had impressed upon the Nazim that they were not being consulted by the government at any stage on the issue, the sources said.

The government had handed over a girls college building in the Old city area to a community organization. The staff of the college had already been transferred and posted to other city colleges, and the students had been shifted to Karachi College, another source told Dawn.

However, it had been claimed that the retransfer of the building was not in line with the criteria set by the government for denationalization. Under the laid down criteria, among other things, it was required that the college staff should be retained by the new management at least for one year, and the students already there be allowed to study at the educational institution in question without any additional tuition fee, the source added.