RAWALPINDI, Nov 10: About 100 contractual employees of the Punjab education department, performing their duties in four women colleges of Rawalpindi, have neither been paid salaries nor relieved of their duties since their contracts expired on August 31, Dawn learnt from well-placed sources.

These employees include 60 women lecturers besides 40 administration and clerical staffers and class IV employees of the Government Degree College Dhoke Hassu, Government Degree College Dhoke Rata, Government College Muslim Town and Government Degree College Dhoke Illahi Baksh.

They were hired by the Punjab education department on a three-year contract in 1998, when these four institutions were set up by the Nawaz Sharif government.

The justifiably worried employees have not been informed of their fate so far. The education directorate in Rawalpindi has also not received any directive in this regard.

The employees have not been paid their September and October salaries and they cannot claim wages for the current month either as they have been asked not to mark their attendance on the registers, the sources added.

The contract period of the employees of another four colleges will end next year. These colleges are Government College F-Block, Government College Dhoke Hamadan, Government College Mohanpura, and Government College B-Block (Satellite Town).

The principals of the affected colleges have asked the employees to continue working voluntarily unless clear orders are received about their contracts. However, the exclusion from attendance registers means that the employees would not have any claims to wages, the sources said.

The principals of the concerned colleges, when asked about the employment status of these lecturers, said the education directorate had assured them that their contracts would be renewed and they should continue working. It is, however, still not clear whether their salaries for the months of September, October and November would be released as they have been asked not to register their attendance, a principal said.

The concerned district education officer (colleges) was not available for comments.

One of the contractual lecturers said on condition of anonymity that some days ago the director colleges had called them for a meeting and assured them verbally that their contracts’ would be renewed.

“There is complete uncertainty. We are passing through a period of severe financial crises and job-insecurity. Is it possible for us to teach properly in these conditions,” a woman-lecturer said and added, “we have nevertheless continued working on the request of our principals and for the sake of our students.”

An official of the education directorate, on condition of anonymity, said no allocation had been made in the budget for the salaries of these employees.

He said the allocation without the approval of the finance department, the contracts cannot be renewed. “The approval of the finance department is being awaited,” he said adding: “There is complete uncertainty as no one is aware of his actual powers under the new (local government) system.”

Another official of the directorate also blamed the devolution plan for the delay in renewal of contracts, saying that the higher authorities were presently busy in putting the local government system in place and ignoring such small matters.

The contract employees outnumber the regulars in these colleges, where no regular appointments have been made in the past three years. The colleges are already running short of teachers. If these contractual employees stop working, the government may have to close down some of these institutions.