HYDERABAD, Jan 15: Sindh Chief Minister Dr Arbab Ghulam Rahim has said his government is paying attention to improvement of quality of education.

Speaking as chief guest at the 43rd Parents' Day of the Petaro Cadet College on Saturday, he said the government's other priorities were law and order and judicious distribution of water.

Dr Rahim said during his first cabinet meeting, a decision had been taken to improve the standard of education on priority basis and policy makers had been directed to formulate an effective strategy which was now under implementation.

He said cadet colleges were providing good educational services and added that there was a need to extend the network of cadet colleges up to rural areas where people were deprived of quality education.

He said the government was considering to establish cadet colleges in Mirpurkhas, Tharparkar and Sukkur and to provide better educational facilities at the existing colleges.

However, he expressed dissatisfaction over the fee structure of cadet colleges and directed college management's to reduce the fees for the benefit of low income people. The chief minister said Pakistan was rich in resources but better education, hard work and honesty were needed to make it prosperous.

He said President Gen Pervez Musharraf had had put the economy of the country on the right track. He claimed that the country now had sound economy and it was heading towards development of other social sectors, including education.

He announced construction of a bachelors' hostel, an auditorium and 25 scholarships for the Petaro college. Earlier, at the prize distribution ceremony, Dr Rahim presented gold and silver medals and cash awards to position holders of the college.

He also gave away prizes to cadets on their best performances in academic, sports and extra-curricular activities. The champion's trophy was given to the Mohammad Bin Qasim House and runner-up trophy went to the Iqbal House.

He also witnessed a demonstration of cadets and announced cash awards for the cadets on their best performances. Later, talking to journalists about bifurcation of the Hyderabad district, Dr Rahim made it clear that if the proposal was in the interest of people, it would be implemented.

He claimed that both people and the Muttahida Qaumi Movement had demanded bifurcation of the district. He observed that leaders for their personal gains always misguided the masses.

He said people here preferred politics for their seats and that was why projects like Gwadar were being opposed. He said different proposals regarding the Hyderabad bifurcation were under consideration and the option which best suited people would be implemented.

The chief minister further said Jacobabad and Dadu districts had also been bifurcated but no ethnic colour had been given to it and added that Karachi should not be compared with Hyderabad because the former was largely based on urban population.

He maintained that the Hala chapter of the Pakistan People's Party had once passed a resolution for bifurcation of Hyderabad and the party had also attempted to do that but later refrained from it. He said if creating more districts was against the interest of people why more districts were created in Punjab and the NWFP.