LARKANA, May 28: Work on 16 schemes in the education sector, comprising 304 units, in Larkana district has almost been stopped due to shortage of funds after the government removed them from the Annual Development Programme in fiscal 2009-10.

Civil work on almost all the units had been completed from 30 to 50 per cent till May 19, 2011, sources in the construction wing of the education department said.

Most of the schemes had been approved under ADP 2007-08 which included upgradation of primary schools to middle schools and middle schools to high schools, construction of additional class rooms for existing schools, two-room primary schools, science laboratories and libraries.

An officer in the education works department privy to the issue said on condition of anonymity that quality of construction, kicked off in 2005-06 on different school buildings, was fast deteriorating due to non- availability of required funds.

This would unnecessarily inflict financial loss on the government, he added. He said that during the current financial year the government had only released Rs32.992 million while the education works department required at least Rs576.300 million.

“Just go in the field and you would find out many school buildings left at lintel, roof, plinth and foundation levels.

A visit to Government Boys High School, Dokri; Government Boys Higher Secondary School, Gerelo; Government Girls Higher Secondary School, Larkana; would reveal that the buildings of their computer laboratories were either left at plinth level, lintel or roof levels”, he said.

According to information gathered by this correspondent, the government of Sindh had completed the PC-I for the construction of 19 libraries in government boys and girls high schools in Larkana, Naudero, Ratodero, Sajjan Sangi, Dhamraha, Arija, Dokri, Panjodero, Ratodero and Garhi Khuda Bakhsh Bhutto. These were the schemes included in ADP 2008-09 but government even did not float tenders for the projects.

Also the up-gradation of eight middle schools to high schools in Murad Wahan, Shaikh Zayed Colony, Rehmatpur, Walidad Gabar, Tayab and Seehar included in ADP 2008-09, from middle to high school did not see the light of the day because tenders of these schemes had not been invited, sources said.

A visit to Government Boys School Deeni Madresha, Larkana, revealed that construction at its first floor had been stopped since long.

Since the commencement of work on the building, Rs1,374,968 were spent on it. The total cost of the scheme was Rs7,939,000 and government had dropped the scheme from ADP in 2009-10, the sources in education works department said.

On the building of a high school in village Haji Lal Bakhsh Shaikh (Dokri) the government has spent Rs480,000 but it was left at lintel level since 2009, sources said.

In Larkana city, structure of the government girls high school Lahori Mohalla, was left at plinth level after spending Rs880,000 while its approved cost was Rs14,500,000. This was also made a non-ADP scheme since 2009-10, sources said.

When contacted, the Executive District Officer (education works) Larkana, Deedar Hussain Leghari, said that he did not know as to why the schemes had been deleted and confirmed that continuously for the last two years all schemes had not been reflected in the budget book for year 2009-10. Now a token money of Rs31 million has been released, which he said, was insufficient to complete the schemes.

This amount, he added, was just a mole in camel's mouth, adding that the amount was kept in July 2010, could only be released in May, 2010.

When contacted, Executive District Officer (Education) Syed Rasool Bakhsh Shah, that 192 units were deleted from the ADP in 2009-10 on the ground that that the units were not at proper locations.

He said that it was not issue now because Sindh government had released funds for 43 units out of 192. However, funds for the units with less than 20 per cent progress, had not been earmarked.

Syed Rasool Bakhsh Shah, however, quashed a question regarding the exact number of the affected schemes.