Daily Times

“I will send my only daughter to a government school,” announced Sindh Education Minister Syed Sardar Shah during the assembly session on Saturday.

The parliamentarian then proceeded to inquire if all parliamentarians were willing to send their children to government schools. While discussing the cultural and educational budget in Sindh Assembly, the education minister said that if all lawmakers present took care of just one school, 168 schools across the province would become model schools.

Minister Shah further said that there was a need to take steps to improve the education system. “I do not have a magic stick so I won’t make tall claims about changing the system abruptly. Instead, I am present in this venerable assembly to request those present to play their role in improving Sindh’s education system,” said the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) parliamentarian during his speech.

Syed Sardar Shah said that back in 1985, non-governmental parties had dissolved the merit criterion for recruitment of teachers. “However, after 2008, teachers were recruited based on merit set by IBA and NTS,” he added.

Shah also opposed the construction of dams during his speech on the floor. “No dam, including Bhasha Dam, will be constructed on the Indus River,” he asserted, adding that any plans to construct a dam on Indus River were ‘unfeasible’.

Published in Daily Times, September 30^th 2018.