KARACHI: Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah in order to functionalize remaining 4,250 dysfunctional schools announced to revise the Teacher Recruitment Policy 2021 and reduced the criteria for passing marks from 55 percent for male Muslims and 50 percent for female and minority candidates to 40 percent for all candidates in order to meet the shortage of teachers.
The earlier recruitment policy was based on union council level, and now it has been made on taluka level, therefore, all the candidates who had obtained at least 40 percent marks will be recruited, subject to the availability of the posts in the concerned taluka.
This he announced on Tuesday while addressing a crowded press conference here at CM House. Provincial Minister for Education Syed Sardar Shah, Minister Irrigation Jam Khan Shoro, Advisor Law Murtaza Wahab and concerned secretaries were also present on the occasion.
The chief minister said that the main purpose of the recruitment of teachers, PSTs and JESTs was to provide teachers to the schools and prevent the education system from decay as thousands viable schools have become dysfunctional due to acute shortage of teachers. “Presently, 54,000 posts of teachers, including 36,000 primary school teachers and 18,000 Junior Elementary School Teachers are lying vacant throughout the province of Sindh,” he said and added, “looking into the dire need of teachers and their urgent induction and training certain, the provisions of Teachers Recruitment Policy- 2021 need to be relaxed/ amended.”
Mr Shah said that there were 6,783 viable schools which remained closed due to non availability of teachers. “Through the current recruitment process, 2,533 schools have been reopened but still 4,250 are without teachers,” he said and added therefore it has become exigent to revise the Teacher Recruitment Policy 2021 and reduce the criteria for passing marks from 55 percent for male Muslim and 50 percent for female and minority candidates to `40 percent for all candidates’ in order to meet the shortage of teachers,” He added for differently able candidates and for hard areas, the passing marks would remain 33 percent as before.
The CM said that even after lowering the passing marks to 40 percent, 18 talukas would still be deficient in teachers. “The candidates who secured marks less than 40 percent in these 18 deprived talukas of different districts will be given the opportunity to attend special courses and pass a test to be conducted by a third party for their recruitment,” he announced. Shah said that after revision of the policy more than 50,000 teachers would be recruited to functionalize all the closed primary and secondary schools.
Law and Order: Talking about the recent wave of terrorism under which three terrorist incidents have taken place in the city within a month, the Chief Minister said that the law and order in the province, particularly was under control but anti-social and anti-state elements have started creating unrest. “But, we would not allow them to achieve their nefarious designs,” he said.
Mr Shah said that when the Bolton Market incident took place, he was in Abu Dhabi with Chairman PPP Bilawal Bhutto to offer condolences over the death of the ruler of UAE. “I cut my visit short and rushed back to Karachi,” he said and added upon reaching at around 1.15 am held an emergency meeting with concerned police officers.
The CM said that he has told the policemen that it was intelligence failure that three incidents have taken place one after another. He pointed out that when a terrorist carrying a bag was entered Karachi University why his bag was not checked.
He said that the police would sensitize the citizens to inform 15 whenever they witness any suspicious activity. “The police will talk to the shopkeepers in the market to keep proper vigilance in their parking lots and install their private CCT system,” he said.
Water: Talking about water shortage, Murad Ali Shah said that no doubt shortage was in the system but “the problem we are facing is of distribution of water,” he said and added his government has serious reservations against IRSA.
Mr Shah said that the provinces were told that there would be eight percent shortage of water during Kharif and in the early Kharif Sindh and Punjab would face 22 percent and13 percent shortage, as a matter of fact shortage should be equal in Sindh and Punjab.
Shah said that in April, Sindh faced 42 percent shortage and if 10 days of May were added, the shortage of water would come to 51 percent in Sindh. Mr Shah said that today (Tuesday) Indus has 89,800 cusecs inflow at Tarbela and last year it was recorded at 60,400 cusecs which means this year we have 29,400 cusecs more water even then Sindh is facing more shortage than the last year.
Last year at Kabul inflows were recorded at 41900 at Kabul and this Jhelum Inflows 175000 and this 188,000 causes but distribution is defective – link canals have been opened in the Punjab. The CM said that Taunsa is the last barrage of Punjab and Guddu is the first barrage of Sindh. When the water inflows at Tuana were recorded recently it was 6,6000 cusecs and when it reached our first barrage, Guddu it came to 38,000 cusecs. “This means water was taken away before reaching Sindh,” he said and added he was going to Islamabad on Wednesday and would meet the prime minister with the request to settle the water distribution issue.