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| February 17, 2003 | Monday | Zul Hijjah 15, 1423 |
Teachers without salary for five months
RAWALPINDI, Feb 16: Delay in the verification of certificates and degrees of 1,200 teachers has cost them their five months salaries.
These teachers — elementary, senior elementary and secondary educators — had been recruited on contract basis by the district government in September last year.
According to the affected teachers, their salaries had been withheld on the directives of the executive district officer (education). They said ‘bureaucratic red tape’ was causing the inordinate delay in the release of their salaries.
They said they had been asked to get their certificates and degrees verified themselves, and only after the completion of this process, would they be considered on the pay-roll of the education directorate.
It is to be recalled here that verification of certificates and degrees and fulfilment of any other formalities is the job of the departments concerned. These departments carry out the verification process secretly, and also deposit the fees required for this purpose. Besides, during this process, the recruited staff continue to get their salaries.
However, the teachers claimed that the executive district officer (education) had introduced a novel way of verification of degrees.
“The newly-appointed teachers have not only been asked to get their degrees verified themselves, but, also deposit the fees in this regard,” they alleged.
They said they had been asked to deposit Rs300 each for matric, intermediate certificate and certified teacher certificate, while Rs600 each for graduation and BEd degrees. In case of a masters degree and MEd, the teachers will have to deposit Rs600 each.
The teachers’ union leaders have expressed their concern over the delay in the disbursement of salaries among the newly- appointed teachers.
“This is great injustice with the educators. They have not only faced discrimination during appointment, but the meagre salaries, which have been fixed for them, are not being released, a former president of the Punjab Teachers Union, Chaudhary Saghir Alam, said.
These teachers have been appointed purely on contract basis. The first two categories — elementary and senior elementary educators — will receive a fixed salary of Rs4,200 per month each, whereas the secondary educators will get Rs5,200 per month. There are no fringe benefits for any category.
The drawing and disbursing officer, Iqbal Naeem, when asked about the case, said the verification process had not yet been completed, therefore the salaries could not be released. He said the education boards of Rawalpindi and Islamabad and Allama Iqbal Open University had cleared some cases, but the University of Punjab had yet not verified any degree.
He said he had informed the executive district officer (education) about the issue in a recently-held meeting.
“The affected teachers come to me asking about their salaries, but I cannot do anything as the verification formalities need to be completed,” he added.
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