Karachi, Sep 19 (PTI) In a startling incident, a government school teacher in Pakistan's Sindh province was granted maternity leave three times in a single year, prompting the authorities to launch an investigation into the matter, according to officials on Tuesday.

The Sindh Education Department has sought an explanation on this peculiar occurrence from the school situated at Naushera Feroze town in southern Sindh.

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The teacher under scrutiny teaches Urdu in primary classes at the government school in Naushera Feroze. She was on maternity leave for a total of 195 days last year, Benazirabad district Education Director Naseer Jogi said.

“We are investigating the matter because this teacher was granted maternity leave three times in a single year, which is strange,” Jogi said.

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He said the teacher and the principal of the school have been asked to appear in-person with their explanation in three days' time. Failure to provide a satisfactory explanation may result in departmental actions against them.

Corruption and negligence in the government education sector is widespread in Sindh with many cases of ghost schools and teachers coming to light in recent times.

Recently, a video surfaced depicting a government primary school in Mirpurkhas that existed only in official records. Salaries and expenses were being disbursed monthly to non-existent teachers and staff, while the school premises were being utilised to house cows and buffaloes.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)