Newly-formed College Education Dept gets first secy

Dr Riaz Ahmed Memon, a Grade-20 officer, has been appointed as the first-ever secretary of the College Education Department that came into existence following the Sindh government’s October 6 decision to bifurcate the province’s education and literacy department into two sections.

Sindh Chief Secretary Muhammad Siddique Memon issued a notification announcing the appointment of Dr Memon, who has previously served as secretary of the Zakat, Religious Affairs, Auqaf and Ushr department.

The News learnt that Dr Memon was not initially being considered for the post but emerged as the favourite due to a deadlock over the other proposed candidates.

On October 6, the provincial chief secretary had notified that schools and colleges would have separate secretaries. He had mentioned that as per the Sindh government’s decision, the Sindh Education and Literacy Department has been divided into two divisions; School Education and College Education. CM Syed Murad Ali Shah had, earlier in September, formally approved the move.

According to officials, private colleges would now be registered at the Directorate of Inspection, Registration of Private Colleges. The officials stated that the provincial government had created 13 sections under the College Education Department, whereas there would be a total of 20 sections in the School Education Department.