Punjab Chief Minister (CM) Syed Mohsin Naqvi on Monday paid a surprise visit to Government Pilot School for Boys on Wahdat Road, Lahore and was shocked to see that not a single teacher was available to teach class 11 and class 12 for the last seven years, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.
The chief minister also took notice of the water filtration plant which had not been cleaned for months, and convened the meeting of Provincial Minister for Education Mansoor Qadir, Secretary Schools Education Ahsan Waheed and other concerned officials to discuss the issue.
He said it was a matter of grave concern that students were being made to drink toxic water.
He was also greatly perturbed to learn that of total 60 schoolteachers, 35 were on election duty and only 12 were available to teach 1,650 students as 13 others were absent.
CM Naqvi made it clear that such state of affairs would not be tolerated at any cost. “If we are to teach our children in this manner, it is better that we shut down our government schools,” he said angrily.
He went on to say that such issues would not be resolved merely by giving directions from air-conditioned rooms. “Pupils have told me that the teachers either remain busy with their cellphones or simply keep sleeping,” he regretted.
Later, in a tweet, the chief minister said that this morning he had gone to the school to assess the situation with respect to pink eye disease among the students.
But, he added, he was stunned to see the pathetic situation at the institution as most of the teachers were not on duty and the water filtration plant was not in good shape either.
Reporter: Junaid Riaz