SIALKOT, Feb 28: District Nazim Akmal Cheema has vowed to make all-out efforts to purge the Sialkot education department from corruption and mounting political interference.

He says he will announce some radical changes to bring about improvement in the department’s performance, as the district government has been spending 72 per cent of its annual budget on the education sector but the desired results are not being achieved.

The nazim expressed these views at a meeting of the education department’s officials at his office on Tuesday. Present among others were naib nazim Rana Ejaz Ahmad, District Monitoring Officer Nadeem Sarwar and EDO (Education) Dr Saifullah Cheema.

The nazim also expressed dissatisfaction over the department’s collective performance which was “the outcome of officials and teachers’ associations with political godfathers.”

He blamed the previous district government for the sorry state of affairs and paving way for political interference in the department. He accused former district nazim Mian Naeem Javed of using the officials and teachers for his personal (political) gains.

He hinted at a major reshuffle in the education department’s all administrative seats and teachers to purge the department from irregularities. He said now the appointments of all the district education officers, deputy district education officers, assistant education officers and teachers would be made purely on merit. For the purpose of recruitments, he said, the district government would soon conduct interviews for the important positions in the education department.

He also pointed out that a majority of the officials had been working even after the tenure, as they had been given undue extensions. As this was all done owing to their political affiliations, now only those people would be recruited who did not have any such association.

He said the female teachers would now be appointed in schools closer to their residences, as they were transferred to the far-flung areas on political grounds by the previous district government. He said it was high time that the corrupt officials be taken to task.

He also directed the authorities concerned to re-organize all the school councils in the district government schools for improving the working. He said the Sialkot district government would soon establish a special committee to monitor the performance of the education department’s all the officials and teachers.

The district nazim also announced constitution of a special committee, comprising senior educationists, to prepare question papers for all the examinations on merit. He said all the aspiring candidates would now have to pass a scientific computerized system for appointment as teachers.

He directed the EDO and other functionaries to go to field and check the conditions of schools, attendance of the teacher and students. He said they should visit at least 20 schools each every month.

During the meeting, some AEOs said there was a large number of such teachers in Sialkot district’s all the four tehsils, who were habitual absentee and had been getting their monthly salaries while staying at their homes for long only because of their political affiliations. The nazim directed DMO Nadeem Sarwar to conduct a strict departmental probe.

He said efforts would be made for the early establishment of the Gujranwala Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education branch in Sialkot.