ISLAMABAD, June 20: Over 16,000 employees of the National Commission for Human Development may get their unpaid salaries for six months within 15 days, but will lose their jobs on June 30.

This was the outcome of a debate in the Senate on the legal and technical aspects of the decision of the government to wrap up the NCHD, which was established in 2002 to increase literacy through informal education.

After allowing the debate on points of order, Senate Chairman Farooq H. Naek directed Leader of the House Nayyar Bokhari to arrange a meeting of the representatives of the protesting employees of the NCHD, its chairperson and officials of the ministry of finance and planning commission with Senator Raza Rabbani, the head of the Parliamentary Committee on the Implementation of the 18th Amendment, to settle the issue.

The Senate chairman also asked the leader of the house to ensure payment of salary arrears to the NCHD employees within 15 days.

About 30,000 employees of the NCHD and National Education Foundation have been protesting for over three weeks against the government`s decision to wrap up the institutions following the refusal of provinces to take their responsibilities after devolution of the ministry of education under the 18th Amendment.

On June 1, a meeting of the Council of Common Interests presided over by Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani had decided to wrap up the NCHD, but the decision was not made public.

The issue was raised in the Senate by Jamal Leghari of the PML-Q and Prof Mohammad Ibrahim of Jamaat-i-Islami who drew the attention of the house to the employees` protest.

Mr Bokhari and Mr Rabbani challenged each other`s statement – while the former said the matter was pending before the implementation commission the latter said it had already been decided by the CCI.

Mr Rabbani said that except for Sindh, the three provinces had categorically refused to take over the NCHD.

He said the provinces had carried out on-ground ascertainment of NCHD`s performance and found that most of the schools were functioning in residential buildings. Moreover, he said, the NCHD had not acquired the service of qualified teachers. Moreover, he said, the provinces could not absorb these teachers because of differences in pay structures.

Criticising some high administrative expenditures, Mr Rabbani said most of the NCHD employees were working on a contract basis. When the NCHD was established it was decided that it would generate its own resources, but it did not happen, he added.

PML-N`s Ishaq Dar questioned the delay in payment of salaries to NCHD employees and termed it a result of government`s mismanagement. Mr Dar, whose party is ruling Punjab, said the provincial government could not adopt an institution running ghost schools.

The Senate will meet again on Tuesday.