Daily Times

LARKANA: A convention was held by Sindh Education Alliance (SEA) on Saturday night which was presided by Maulana Rashid Mahmood Soomro and Moazim Ali Abbasi, candidates of NA-200 and PS-11 of Larkana respectively. Besides notables, civil society participated in the event.

The convention revealed that from a total of 42,383 schools in Sindh, buildings of only 13,891 schools are under satisfactory condition while 15,978 structures are substandard.

The SEA Chairman Junaid Dahar claimed that except Awami Jamhoori Party (AJP), no political party has a manifesto that includes education on its highest priority. Education has been guaranteed by the constitution as a basic right of people.

He outlined that the literacy rate of Sindh is even worse than Baluchistan’s.

Educationalist Mukhtiar Samo highlighted Sindh Education Profile 2016-17 which reveals weak building structures of 6,567 schools while students of 16,567 schools study under open sky.

Jamil Gad said that the slogan of “Roti, Kapra and Makan” does not comply with modern times and education is required on emergency basis.

He said that Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) has failed to improve literacy rate in the province despite the fact that it has been ruling the province since 10 years.

“Wake up now, otherwise you will be ruined,” he asked people.

He asked people to cast their votes to candidates who support education in the upcoming general elections.

Rashid Soomro alleged that the Sindh Government took billions of rupees from the World Bank and other financial institutions to improve educational system in the province but students of 84 schools in Larkana study under open sky while 97 schools have only one classroom and 136 are without electricity.

He disclosed the fact that there are four elementary schools, 10 secondary schools, 32 middle schools and only 82 girls’ schools in NA-200 constituency which has more than one million people.

He called it an alarming situation that rulers get their tenure prolonged by favouring illiterate people who cast their votes to them.

Moazim Abbasi urged that no nation can prosper without gaining education. He said that quality education is basic right of every national.

He revealed that Larkana is at 87th position from a list of 155 districts which contains statistics to determine education quality in the country.

“Rulers have wreaked havoc on the people but it cannot be perceived how they continue to vote them,” he concluded.

Published in Daily Times, April 23^rd 2018.