HYDERABAD, Nov 3: Sindh Education Secretary, Nazar Hussain Mahar, held a meeting with District Nazim Hyderabad, Dr Makhdoom Rafiquzzaman, here on Friday, in which various educational projects of the district were discussed, besides a decision to work out redeployment.

DCO, Muhammad Tariq Ayub, EDO (finance and planning), Abdul Qadir Mangi, EDO (revenue), Shakeel Nagori, EDO (education), Aijaz Mirza and other officials also attended the meeting.

It was decided that teachers would be appointed keeping in view the strength of the students and schools having more than hundred students would have a head master, subject to the authentication of enrolment.

It would be compulsory to appoint a mother tongue teacher — Urdu or Sindhi — and a teacher of English, while complete staff would be provided in all schools having five classrooms. The meeting resolved that schools having only one classroom and one teacher would be initially provided Urdu or Sindhi teachers and a teacher of English, but ultimately such schools would be upgraded to five classrooms and complete strength of teachers would be posted there.

A survey will be conducted to open all the closed schools and where there are no students, such schools will be declared as closed. The buildings of such schools will be auctioned or given to organizations willing to run them. It was further decided that such buildings, where more than one institutions were functioning, the head of the higher institution will be made responsible for all institutions and in case of two institutions functioning in the morning and evening shifts, the head of the higher institution will be made head of both the institutions.

The meeting decided to select Hala as a model tehsil for initiating a scheme of compulsory education. The meeting was informed that computer/training education had been made compulsory and the BISE would hold examinations of computer education in 2003. It was also informed that English had been made compulsory for first year, for which all educational institutions will purchase computers.

The ratio of computer has been fixed at ten students per computer. Those institutions which have no specific funds, could establish computer labs with the collaboration of private firms.

The secretary told the meeting that the government had allocated Rs4 million for the education department from SAP to initiate training for English teachers, for addition of classrooms and repair of educational institutions etc. He said that the school management committees were being formed which would be provided funds through their respective accounts. These committees will be represented by teachers, taluka Nazims and the parents.

The meeting was informed that 220 teachers had been selected in the district on contract basis, who would be posted as English teachers, while census of schools was being conducted to collect information.