KARACHI: Malpractices and the alleged corruption seem to be the order of the day in few government colleges in Karachi. An alarming issue came into the limelight at Government Girls Degree College, Block N, North Nazimabad where a theft incident was unearthed including the abrupt disappearance of valuable lab equipment, pictures of female students from the lab registers, and cash from the college’s Botany and Zoology lab.

Reliable sources told this scribe that on November 6, 2023, following the above-cited upsetting situation, on complaints from a few of the students, the college management filed a report at Taimuria Police Station in which it was revealed that 7-8 pictures of female students pasted on the lab registers went missing from the Zoology and the botany labs of the college which pose a serious threat to the safety and security of the students that it might be used with malicious intent on social media or for any other dishonest purpose by the perpetrators who are still at large.

Moreover, within a short span of time not only the lab equipment, and pictures of selected female students disappear but iron grills also got stolen, and out of 6 gates, three of the gates have been reportedly stolen. It seems that the incidents of theft are on the rise in Govt Degree Girls College and the alleged culprits have no fear of being arrested and getting penalized on account of such intolerable acts.

Subsequent to the seriousness of the matter, two of the Associate Professors Ruby Tabbasum and Ozma Noor Osmani of the college wrote a request application to the Principal Mrs Aisha Tauqir where the entire matter was highlighted along with its grave consequences that may injure the reputation of the college at one side while on the other side can put the lives of the female students in jeopardy. The Principal was requested to lodge an FIR as the matter pertains to the only 7-8 selected female students out of approximately 400 students whose pictures disappeared, but the Principal failed to comprehend the severity of the issue and paid no heed to the request of the senior most faculty of the college.

Reliable Sources told ‘The Daily National Courier’, that SHO Taimuria police station also urged the College management to lodge an FIR into the incident as it is of a serious nature but despite the cop’s willingness to file an FIR, the Principal refrained from doing it, the reasons not known yet. 

The senior faculty members are still waiting to get the right attention and the response from the higher management of the college over this incident and to take immediate action by lodging an FIR on these incidents. Also, the students are very concerned and continuously ask the teachers about the whereabouts of their stolen pictures and insist that the management initiate a proper inquiry into the incident until the arrest of the perpetrators.  On the other hand, the Directorate of Colleges Karachi despite knowing the fact that malpractices in several government colleges are surging, the directorate officials are numb and not giving any response though sources claimed that the directorate is well-acquainted with the situation of the colleges in the city.

The application was also forwarded by the faculty members to Secretary College Education Department. Director Monitoring / Inspection Colleges, Director General Colleges Sindh, RD Colleges Karachi Region.

Published in The Daily National Courier, November, 28 2023

Like Business on Facebook, follow @DailyNCourier on Twitter to stay informed and join in the conversation.