DADU, April 25: Junior teachers and officials promoted out-of-turn to senior positions on political grounds, use of school buildings in remote areas as guest houses by local landlords and the ghost of ghost teachers have kept education haunted in the district for years.
Sources in the education department said that despite efforts by a number of non-governmental organisations and the district government the number of closed schools in remote areas had increased.
The number of closed schools under the previous government stood at 375 which increased to 400 under the caretaker setup and it was believed to have reached 500 out of 1,985.
The school buildings have been converted into Otaqs, store rooms and cattle pens by local landlords and majority of teachers prefer to avail themselves of “visa system”, as the illegal practice is understood and referred to in education department. The teacher who wants to avoid duty pays a certain monthly amount to education officials in return for the facility.
Another problem maligning the education department is posting of junior teachers to senior positions on political grounds. Assistant district officers (BPS-16) education female and male in Johi, Dadu, Mehar and Khairpur Nathan Shah had been posted to BPS-18 positions while district officers elementary and high schools who were grade-16 and 17 officers, had been posted to grade-19 positions, sources said.
Masihuzzaman, a villager at Makhdoom Bilawal primary school, said that around 20 primary schools were closed in his union council and mostly teachers were not performing their duties.
He said that feudal lords were using schools as cattle pens and threatened villagers of dire consequences if they ever dared question them while education officials were not taking any action despite repeated complaints.
Assistant District Officer Education Abdul Hakeem Jamali said that 200 schools had been non-functional in Dadu taluka in previous government but he got 100 reopened. All the closed primary schools in UC Makhdoom Bilawal had been opened, he claimed.
The regional director of Provincial Ombudsman at Dadu, Saeed Ahmed Mubejo, said that he had received 400 complaints about appointments, transfers and postings and he sought explanation from the EDO of education.
He said that he was also probing a case involving embezzlement of Rs500 million School Management Committees funds and repairs of schools with the help of treasury officials.
He confirmed the number of closed schools stood at 500 and that junior teachers had been posted to senior positions and many illegal promotions had been taking place, depriving deserving ones of their right.
The district officer of high and secondary schools, Haq Nawaz Solangi, admitted he enforced EDO’s orders for promotion of four to five high school teachers (HST) undcer political pressure but cancelled them later.
The general manager of the Dadu chapter of the National Commission for Human Development (NCHD) said that the commission had reopened 165 primary schools out of 375 in 2006 but their number had again increased.
He said that according to NCHD’s survey 740,000 children were out of schools in 2006 while 440,000 students were enrolled in schools in 2007-2008.
EDO of Education Shah Mohammad Gadhi said that closed schools would be re-opened in a few days and action would be taken against ghost teachers
According to education department’s figures, there are 1,985 primary girls/boys schools, 71 middle and 82 high and 74 ghost primary schools in the district.