CHAKWAL: Maladministration of the higher education authorities of Punjab has hampered the educators recruitment in Chakwal where the education department needs Rs138.840 million to pay salaries to teachers recruited in 2013.

Punjab Government has started recruitment process of educators in BPS 9, 14 and 16 in the province. It announced 600 vacancies in Chakwal district but the fund starved Education Department of Chakwal is not able to get 600 teachers recruited.

According to officials, the department does not have a single penny under the head of salaries for the new teachers while it is yet to clear the stalled four to five months salaries of 1303 educators recruited in 2013.

Despite the fact that the district administration stated clearly to the higher authorities in Lahore that it could not recruit new teachers as it does not have funds, the higher authorities instead of redressing the woes of Chakwal administration forced it to begin the recruitment process at any cost.

“We do not have funds but we have been forced to start recruitments, though we have to issue the stalled salaries of educators recruited in 2013 amounting more than Rs130 million,” moans an official.

The official said that many letters were written to the chief minister requesting him to resolve the financial woes of Chakwal Education Department but in vain.

“How shall we issue salaries to the new entrants when we do not have funds for those recruited in 2013,” the official added.

A source said that the Punjab government was bent upon filling the vacant posts as a huge tranche of foreign aids from different donors particularly from United Kingdom could only pour in when there would be sufficient teaching staff at public schools.

Ironically Chakwal's Education Department is the sole victim of such kind of officials’ maladministration and apathy in the province. Now the Education Department of Chakwal has only announced 165 vacancies instead of 600.

Before announcing the recruitments the Punjab Government asked National Testing Service (NTS) to conduct a test for the educators’ recruitments and thousands of candidates have passed the test conducted by NTS. Due to the maladministration of higher authorities the candidates of Chakwal district have been left dejected.

“I have passed three tests conducted by NTS as to apply for the three posts (BPS 9, 14, 16) one had to pass separate test for each post,” says a dejected candidate who paid Rs2,700 as fee for three tests.

Many unemployment stricken candidates appeared in two to three tests of NTS but now their hopes have been shattered as the vacancies in the district have been cut to 165 from 600.

Talking to Dawn an official in the Education Department said that funds under the head of salary were placed in the development funds during district nazim's era.

The step has caused administrative and financial problem for Education Department of Chakwal and the higher authorities seem in no mood to fix the wrong.

On the other hand parliamentarians of Chakwal district have also their share in worsening the problem. Obsessed by the popularity instinct the local MPs of Chakwal got 123 schools upgraded during the previous regime but neither the new buildings were constructed nor new teachers were recruited which added to the missing facilities.

“Currently 160 schools in the district are lacking proper facilities including electricity, boundary walls, class rooms and toilets,” says District Monitoring Officer Muhammad Asif Iqbal Chohan.

When contacted, MNA Major (retired) Tahir Iqbal and MPA Chaudhry Liaquat Ali told Dawn that they were trying their best to get the funds for Education Department issued. “I'm very concerned on this issue and I'm trying my best to resolve it as soon as possible,” said Mr Iqbal.