RAWALPINDI, Feb 11: About 200 contractual lecturers of eight women colleges in the city have not been given raise in their salaries as recently announced by President Gen Pervez Musharraf.

The district education officials maintain that these lecturers are not entitled to the increased amount because their appointment is on contract basis with fixed salaries equivalent to that in grade-17.

The lecturers, however, have refused to receive their salaries unless the raise has been paid to them.

According to the announcement made by the president, about Rs2,000 had to be paid to these lecturers in addition to their actual salaries.

These lecturers were appointed in 1998 during the Nawaz Sharif government, when eight women colleges were opened in Rawalpindi by Sheikh Rashid.

On the other hand, the administration staff and class-four employees, numbering about 80, also appointed on contract, have received the raise. The lecturers have termed this step a great injustice on part of the district education officials.

They alleged that the executive district officer (EDO) concerned and the district education officer (colleges) had some vested interests in denying the teaching staff their due right.

The local lecturers association president, Ilyas Qureshi, told Dawn that the matter had been discussed several times with the education officials, who had admitted that the lecturers were entitled to get the raise. “Verbally they accept our viewpoint, but practically they do nothing”, he added.

A union leader, however, alleged that the district education officials just wanted to get rid of these lecturers who had been working for the last four years. They have been trying to harass these lecturers in one way or the another so that they can appoint new ones of their choice, he alleged. The affected lecturers have pledged they would thwart any such move on part of the education officials. The association president said the lecturers would go on a strike if the problem was not solved.

The colleges, in which these lecturers are working, include Government Degree Girls College (GDGC) F-Block, GDGC B-Block, GDGC Muslim Town, GDGC Zafarul Haq Road, GDGC Dhoke Illahi Bakhsh, GDGC Mohanpura, GDGC Milad Nagar (Dhoke Ratta) and GDGC Dhoke Hassu. The EDO (education) and DEO (college) were not available for comments.