On the pattern of school specific budgets, the government will be starting college specific budgets from the next year to resolve the problems being faced by the colleges in the province, said Senior Sindh Education Minister Pir Mazharul Haq. He said this while addressing the audience as the chief guest at the annual sports day of Government College for Women, Shahrah-e-Quaideen on Saturday. “Sports should be an essential part of the curriculum in government education institutions and the government would encourage all extra curricular activities,” Haq said. “The present democratic government has solved many longstanding issues of the teachers’ community and now it is the turn of the teachers to pay attention towards educating the students honestly.” The senior minister said that the Sindh Education Department has established the Sindh Endowment Trust to provide scholarships to needy students of Sindh who cannot afford the fees of higher education institutions. He added that a great responsibility lies on the shoulders of the teachers because it is their duty to prepare the future generations of the country. “The Sindh Education Department has reduced the fees structure for students and took revolutionary steps to improve education standards in Sindh,” he said. Appreciating the female teaching staff for their caring attitude towards the students, Haq said that the government had given due rights to the teachers because Shaheed Mohartama Benazir Bhutto believed in empowering the women while education is the fundamental right of all the citizens of the province. He assured the college administration that all their problems regarding shortage of teachers will be resolved soon. Advising the teachers’ community not to play politics in educational institutions, the senior minister asked them to pay attention towards continuing the teaching process. Announcing a grant of Rs 1 million for the college, Haq said that Rs 200,000 will be spent on cash prizes among the participants of the Annual Sports Day, while the remaining funds will be utilised on developmental works in the college. On the occasion, college principal Prof Rubina Jamsheed Soomro presented a welcoming note to the senior minister.
