KARACHI: The Sindh College Education Department has announced a set of wide-ranging reforms for colleges across Sindh, placing a ban on unnecessary mobile phone use on campuses and introducing structured student counselling services as key measures.
According to a report by ARY News, the department plans to roll out a new counselling programme by hiring education experts, bureaucrats and professionals to guide students academically and personally. A formal notification restricting excessive mobile phone use by students is expected to be issued soon.
The decisions were taken during a high-level meeting chaired by Secretary of College Education Nadeem Memon, where officials reviewed persistent issues such as teacher absenteeism, weak monitoring systems and poor-quality construction work in several colleges.
During the meeting, it was disclosed that 44 male and 36 female teachers had remained absent for extended periods. The department decided to initiate immediate legal action, referring the cases to the Chief Secretary of Sindh and directing that public notices be published in newspapers.
To strengthen oversight, the department approved the creation of an autonomous Monitoring and Evaluation Directorate by merging existing inspection wings. The new body will be responsible for closely monitoring staff attendance, infrastructure standards and academic performance.
Secretary Memon also directed officials to prepare a plan for establishing a College Infrastructure Development Unit. Under this framework, future development projects will be carried out through professional consulting firms selected via national and international tenders.
As part of its student welfare agenda, the department will also implement the “Each One, Teach One” initiative to help bring out-of-school children back into the education system.
Emphasising zero tolerance for negligence, the secretary warned that officers failing to perform their duties would face strict disciplinary action without exception.
