Sindh Assembly adopts bill to regularise schoolteachers: report

KARACHI: After a brief debate, the Sindh Assembly on Monday unanimously adopted the Sindh Regularisation of Teachers Appointed on Contract Basis Bill, 2018, according to reports by a leading English daily.

Under this bill, all schoolteachers appointed on contract in 2014 through the National Testing Service (NTS) will stand regularised after assent to the bill by the Sindh governor.

After its introduction by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Nisar Ahmad Khuhro, when the bill was taken up for consideration MQM parliamentary party leader Syed Sardar Ahmad inquired if the quota system was kept in view while making recruitment of the teachers. If not, he said, it amounted to a violation of the basic law.

Education Minister Jam Mehtab Dahar said that 21,500 teachers were recruited under an agreement with the World Bank to meet a shortage of primary school teachers on the union council basis.

Responding to the general discussion in which besides Sardar Ahmad, Samar Ali Khan of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf, Mehtab Akbar Rashdi of the Pakistan Muslim League-Functional participated, Senior Minister Khuhro said these teachers were recruited on merit through NTS tests. They had been working since 2012 and their contracts were regularised after every three years. As their regularisation required a legal cover, the cabinet had approved the bill for legislation.

The second bill, which was also on the order of the day, was the Sindh Sales Tax on Services (Amendment) Bill, 2018. After its introduction by Mr Khuhro on his motion, its consideration was deferred till Wednesday.

The chair also informed the house that the Sindh governor had given assent to the Sindh Public Procurement (Amendment) Bill, 2017.