KARACHI: After discovery of another forgery in recruitment of schoolteachers, Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah has ordered an inquiry into the matter and registration of an FIR against those involved in issuing illegal recruitment orders.

The government, af ter disclosure of the illegal appointments, has stopped salaries of 3,700 teachers for want of verification of their credentials sought some four months back. Only 16 teachers have submitted their documents despite repeated notices through the press.

Expressing surprise over a number of teachers` appointments in different districts despite a ban since 2008, except recruitment of required teaching staff througha well-reputed third party, he said: `I would not compromise on merit and quality in the education sector because thefuture of the country, particularly of Sindh, lies in education`.

The chief minister issued these directives while presiding over a meeting on Thursday at CM House on the education department to review progress of its different projects.

The meeting was attended among others by Minister for Planning and Development Mir Hazar Khan Bijarani, Minister for Education Jam Mehtab Dahar, Chairman of P&D Mohammad Waseem, Secretary of School Education Aziz Uqalli and Secretary for College Education Parvaiz Seehar.

Mr Dahar told the chief minister that the salaries of 3,700 teachers had been stopped for want of verification of their credentials.

`Despite repeated notices issued through the national press hardly 16 teachers have submitted their documents,` he said.

`I would not allow any illegalentry in the teaching cadre I want best teachers appointed through NTS,` the chief minister added.

Foreign-aided reform programmes Mr Ugaili briefing the meeting on the ongoing foreign-aided educational reform programmes, saying that six different foreign-funded projects were in progress in the education sector.

They were World Bank-funded Sindh Education Reform Programme (SERPI/II), $66 million Sindh Global Partnership for Education (SGPE) funded by the WB, European Union (EU) and other donors, EU Sindh Education Sector Programme (SESSP), Sindh Basic Education Programme (SBEP) of USAID, Capacity Building of Teachers Training Institutes and Training of Elementary Schoolteachers and Girls Elementary School of JICA.