May 19, 2007	Saturday	Jamadi-ul-Awwal 02, 1428

MUZAFFARGARH, May 18: Teachers of 337 non-formal schools have been awaiting salaries since July 2006 and now they have threatened to resign if their dues are not cleared within two weeks.

The non-formal education plan was launched in 2006 by the federal government in collaboration with NGOs. Under the programme, NGOs provided teachers and books while the government promised Rs4,000 to Rs5,500 per month salary to teachers depending upon their qualification.

Representatives of NGOs Peoples Welfare Organisation, Aims and Rural Development Organisation told Dawn on Thursday that they had spread literacy through this programme in the district but the federal government exploited their teachers.

Teacher Sadia Ikram, who has now resigned from the job, said she had been teaching for the last 11 months in a school five kilometres away from her house.

She said she taught 40 women of Basti Dogar Klasara. It was very difficult to continue the job due to price hike, she added.

Sadia is not the only teacher who has quit the job. A number of teachers are likely to quit if they are not paid salaries.

NGOs representatives said they had contacted EDO literacy Shahid Bashir many times and every time he promised that the salaries would be given soon.

When contacted, the EDO said he had sent summaries to project director Muhammad Akram in Education Ministry in Islamabad many times but had got no response.

He said the results of the programmes were satisfactory.

He said he would again ask the ministry to give salaries to the teachers because it was their right.