Higher Edu minister's absence lands parliamentary secy in trouble.

Byline: Iqtidar Gilani

LAHORE -- An ill-prepared and clueless parliamentary secretary remained at the receiving end despite non-stop help from the officials' gallery in the form of slips and occasional relief from the chair at the Punjab Assembly on Thursday.

In the absence of the minister during question hour on higher education, Sibtain Raza could hardly satisfy any of the questioners despite being spoon-fed through chits by those sitting in the officials' gallery.

On a number of occasions, deputy speaker Sardar Dost Muhammad Mazari, chairing the sitting in the absence of speaker Ch Parvez Elahi, rescued the hapless parliamentary secretary by suggesting the questioners that the department has given detailed and to the point answers.

The government admitted severe shortage of teachers, though without giving any plan to overcome the problem in districts in the southern Punjab.

In Rajanpur, out of 256 sanctioned posts of teachers for 10 colleges, only 110 were occupied and the rest were lying vacant for years. Only two posts out of 19 were filled in Government Boys Degree College, Umerkot; while four out of total 22 pots in Government Girls Degree College, Dajal.

The poorly prepared parliamentary secretary failed to give satisfactory replies to the supplementary questions. He could only wait for the slip and read it out without any explanation and details of the given figures.

To a query, he admitted that the department had no alternative plans to meet the shortage of teachers, saying hiring of the lecturers through the Public Service Commission would take long time.

Sibtain Raza said the department had sent a requisition to the PPSC for recruitment of lecturers but didn't know when and against how many vacancies or that by what time the process could complete.

To a question...