KARACHI: The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Friday sought a comprehensive report from the provincial education department regarding the details of all funds that it had received and spent in last five years.
A division bench was hearing a joint petition of Fixit’s Muhammad Alamgir Khan and Justice Helpline’s patron Atam Parkash, who had taken the provincial authorities to court for not implementing the Sindh Children’s Right to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2013 in its true letter and spirit.
In Friday’s hearing, the bench directed the provincial authorities to present details of the total amount that it had gotten for the education department in the last five years and how that money was spent, specifying that there should be an explanation for every penny.
The court also sought the number of functioning and non-functioning schools in the province. “A comprehensive report should be submitted by January 31 or else high ups of the education department will be summoned,” the bench ruled.
Earlier, the civil rights campaigners petitioned the high court and submitted that the provincial assembly had passed the Sindh Right Children’s Right to Free and Compulsory Education Bill in February 2013 with the aim to provide free of cost education to every child. “The clause 3.(1) of the above-said act clearly mentions that every child between the age of five to sixteen years, regardless of sex and race shall have a fundamental right to free and compulsory education in a school,” they said.
They said that there were not enough middle and high schools to meet the challenge of providing necessary education to the children in Sindh. The further stated that according to a survey report, around 6,000 government schools were unfunctional, however, more than 40,000 ghost teachers were getting paid their full salaries, due to the political influence.
The petitioners also submitted that according to another survey that was conducted by the Sindh Education Department, 77 per cent schools were in deplorable conditions, and almost 50 per cent did not have the basic facilities of drinking safe and clean water.
“The Sindh government claims to promote education in the province under the ‘education emergency’ but it is just a claim as no betterment has been observed in the education sector, in fact, the condition has gotten from bad to worse,” the petitioners maintained.
They prayed to the court to order the constitution of a JIT consisting of members from all investigation authorities including the Pakistan Army, and direct them to investigate the matter impartially and honestly. The court was further requested to pass appropriate orders in the light of JIT findings for the provincial education sector’s betterment.