HYDERABAD, Oct 12: District Nazim Kanwar Naveed Jamil has said that parents have lost faith in educational institutions run by the government due to irresponsible attitude of teachers.

He said parents were opting to send their children to private schools because of poor standard of education in government-run schools.

He was speaking at a ceremony held for distribution of books and schoolbags among deserving students of the Hyderabad taluka on Wednesday.

The function was sponsored by the Education Sector Reform Assistance.

EDO (education) Anwar Siddiqui, ESRA provincial manager Mohsin Mushtaq, district manager Shama Shaikh, district education monitoring committee chairman Mukhtar Yousuf and district finance committee chairman Q. Hakim were also present on the occasion.

He said that the district government was trying to restore the confidence of parents in the government schools.

He said that the administration had allocated 60 per cent of the total budget of the district government for improving the standard of education in government education institutions.

He said that inefficient and irresponsible teachers would be punished and conscientious teachers would be encouraged.

Kanwar Jamil said that teaching was a very noble profession but a large number of teachers of government education institutions had brought a bad name to this profession.

He said that the result was that the parents had lost faith in the government schools and even those parents who could save just Rs200 per month were opting for private schools for the education of their children.

He said that the standard of education was going down the hill and copy culture had gained roots due to some unconscionable teachers.

He said that parents with insufficient means specially those who were living in rural areas deserved all praise because instead of sending their children to work as labourers, were sending their children to schools.

“It is now our responsibility to appreciate sacrifices of parents and impart good education to their children”, the district nazim said.

He said that out of the Rs2.2 billion budget of the district government, it had allocated a huge amount of Rs1.35 billion for the education sector.

He said that in order to improve the standard of education in government schools, the district government had decided to convert 10 Urdu and Sindhi medium schools to English medium to bring them at par with the private schools.

He said that next year, 100 more Urdu and Sindhi medium schools would be converted into English medium.

He said that teachers would also be imparted latest training in teaching and school buildings would also be modernised.

The district nazim directed headmasters and other education officials to inculcate a sense of responsibility among teachers and to take strict action against irresponsible teachers and staff regardless of their influence and clout.

He said that on the report of district monitoring committee, disciplinary action had been taken against 100 teachers and staff.

He said that good teachers would be given commendatory certificates and shields.

He lauded services of ESRA for promotion of education and improvement of education institutions.

FRENCH ENVOY: Commercial Consular of the Embassy of France in Pakistan Walid Otari on Thursday called on District Nazim Kanwar Naveed Jamil and discussed matters of mutual interest with him.

MPAs Aslam Perwaiz and Naeem Ishtiaq, office-bearers of the Hyderabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry and EDO (revenue) Abdul Sattar Jatoo were also present on the occasion.

The nazim informed visiting diplomat that establishment of a five star hotel, industrial expo centre and extension of industrial estate were on top priority of the district government to introduce and strengthen economic and industrial culture in the district for the socio-economic uplift of the people.

He informed the visiting guest that the district government had already reserved piece of land for a five star hotel and was in negotiation with different investors to implement the project.

He said that more land for the extension of Hyderabad SITE had been got sanctioned while the matter of expo centre establishment was in process.

The nazim said that Hyderabad situated on the National Highway near to the seaport had good industrial potential.

He said that availability of raw material due to its fertile land and manpower at low rate was another incentive for the investors.

He said that full coordination and cooperation would be ensured by the district government to encourage foreign investment.

The nazim while inviting French Embassy for holding industrial exhibition of French goods in Hyderabad asked the French commercial consular that district government Hyderabad would provide all facilities in this regard.

He said that though Hyderabad had 1.6 million populations but its markets cater to the needs of more than 7 million people of surrounding small towns and villages as such exhibition of French goods would be more beneficial from commercial point of view.

The district nazim informed the French consular that Hyderabad being the second largest city of Sindh was rich in cultural heritage.

He said that the district government had planned to preserve these monuments and historical heritage of the district for which some funds had also been earmarked.

The commercial consular said that his country enjoyed good relations with Pakistan as such trade transactions during last year amounted to about one billion dollars.

He said that Pakistan day would be organised in France next year to project industrial, traditional and social culture of Pakistan with a view to strengthening bilateral relations and to exchange and avail economic opportunities between two countries.