LAKKI MARWAT: The Independent Monitoring Unit found 144 schools closed and 333 schoolteachers absent from duty in the district during the month of September, a meeting was told here on Thursday.

The meeting of district steering committee, presided over by Deputy Commissioner Syed Zafar Ali Shah, was told that of the closed schools, 54 were for boys and 90 for girls while the truant teachers included 188 males and 145 females.

The district monitoring officer, Amjad Meraj, presented a detailed report in the meeting about the closed and non-functional schools and habitual absence of teachers and other employees of education department in the district.

Additional Deputy Commissioner Ihsanullah Khan, Assistant Commissioner Qayyum Nawaz, DEOs Nazir Khan and Razia Khattak, District Planning Officer Mohammad Riaz and other officials concerned also attended the meeting.

Monitors find 333 teachers absent from duty; officials say action will be taken against truant employees

Mr Meraj also shed light on the schools, which lacked basic facilities like boundary wall, drinking water, electricity and latrines. He informed the meeting that 36 schools were found non-functional while 45 employees of education department used substitutes in their place at the schools.

The officials of education department assured the meeting that they would initiate action against the absent teachers according to prescribed rules and regulations. They also said that the non-functional schools would be merged into the nearest educational institutions.

The deputy commissioner took serious notice of the closure of schools absenteeism of teaching and non teaching staff. He said that district administration would not tolerate the practice anymore.

Mr Shah said that the slow process of disciplinary action and compromising policy affected the performance of education department. He asked the education department to make assistant district officers accountable for absence of teachers and Class-IV employees from their duty.

He said that the assistant district officers would face the music if they did not report absenteeism of teachers and closure and non-functioning of schools in their respective circles in future. The deputy commissioner asked the education department to lodge FIR through their respective circle officers against those, who had closed or occupied the buildings of government schools.

“No one will be allowed to put the future of children at stake,” Mr Shah said. He added that the administration was planning to collect the data of out of school children through patwaris and union council secretaries.

Published in Dawn, October 30th, 2014