The financial crisis plaguing the Mirpurkhas Education Board has reached a critical level, primarily due to the provincial government’s apparent lack of interest. As a result, there is a high likelihood of significant delays in the announcement of examination results.
Despite directives from the minister of universities and boards for all provincial education boards to announce their results by September 15, the Mirpurkhas Board is unlikely to meet this deadline.
The board’s challenges are further exacerbated by the absence of key officials, including a permanent chairman, controller of examination, secretary, and audit officer. Although the board only requires 70 employees, it currently employs 270, placing additional strain on its already limited finances.
The situation worsened when the provincial government decided that education boards should no longer collect examination and enrollment fees from students in government schools and colleges, promising instead to cover these costs through government grants. However, these funds have been consistently delayed and provided in incomplete installments, leaving all boards, especially the Mirpurkhas Board, in a precarious financial state.
The crisis has been particularly severe in Mirpurkhas, where teachers have not been paid for checking answer sheets for several years. Understandably, they are now refusing to do this work without compensation.
An official from the board’s examination department revealed that 95 percent of the board’s students come from government institutions that do not pay fees. There has been no increase in examination and enrollment fees for nine years, and with the rising costs of essential materials, including printing paper, ink, furniture, and other services, the board’s expenses have ballooned.
Zulfiqar Shah, the acting chairman of the Mirpurkhas Education Board, acknowledged the challenges, citing the large staff numbers and delayed government grants as significant obstacles. However, he assured that efforts are underway to secure the cooperation of the teaching community, to announce Matriculation and Intermediate Pre-Medical exam results by the last week of September.
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