Daily Times

KARACHI: Not all parliamentarians agree with the notion of enrolling their children in government school, learnt Daily Times.

While addressing the provincial assembly on Saturday, Sindh Education Minister Syed Sardar Ali Shah had urged all parliamentarians to send their children to government schools. During a discussion on the cultural and educational budget, the education minister had said that if all lawmakers present took care of just one school, 168 schools across the province would become model schools. Earlier, during his speech, the parliamentarian had announced that he would be sending his only daughter to a government school.

“If all the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) MPA’s send their children to government schools, we would follow suit,” remarked Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM-P) parliamentarian Khwaja Izhar ul Hassan. “However, this seems impossible to me,” he said. He added that it was all ‘easier said than done’.

According to Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA) lawmaker Waryam Faqeer, nobody would send their children to government schools. “Government schools in Sindh lack basic infrastructure. There are no walls and no toilets, often no roof either. There is close to null provision of utilities including potable water and electricity,” said the MPA. “The schools are in such a dilapidated state that students might get injured. It has happened numerous times before,” Faqeer added.

Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) lawmaker Jamal Siddiqui also commented on the issue. He said. “We respect Sardar Shah’s resolve but he should also let us know if there is a government owned school in the province that is providing quality education to children.” He added that if all government schools worked like model schools, the PTI parliamentarians would be more than happy to send their children there.

“Why should we sent our children to government schools?” questioned GDA’s Moazzam Abbasi. The lawmaker said that Sardar Shah ought to let the parliamentarians know if there was a single government school in Sindh that provided quality education to children. MQM-P parliamentarian Basit Ahmed Siddiqui opined that the education minister’s proposal was nothing but a ploy to catch the media’s attention.

However, some parliamentarians also stepped forward to defend the education minister’s proposal. Local Government Minister Saeed Ghani said that he genuinely appreciated Sardar Shah’s statement. Supporting the initiative, he said that it would aid in improving Sindh’s education system. Another Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) lawmaker, Nasir Hussain also welcomed the suggestion. “I would have sent my children to government schools if they were of a schoolgoing age but they have all grown-up and my grandchildren are too young to go to school,” said Hussain.

Published in Daily Times, September 3^rd 2018.