RAWALPINDI: Apparently succumbing to teacher unions’ pressure, the Rawalpindi education department has decided not to take departmental action against the school teachers whose classes produced poor results in the last Secondary School Certificate (SSC) examination.

The office of Executive District Officer (EDO) had ordered action against more than 400 teachers, who were responsible for poor results in SSC part one examinations last year.

However, teachers on the other hand put onus of the poor results on the Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education (BISE) Rawalpindi as, what they said, they issued faulty result.

According to sources, it has been decided that teachers of grade 16 and below, who have been issued notices or awarded punishment, would file appeal with District Coordination Officer (DCO) against the EDOs decision.

When DCO will ask EDO Education for his comments, he will seek relief for the teachers, the sources said.

Talking to Dawn on Tuesday, EDO Education Qazi Zahoor-ul-Haq confirmed that when teachers would file appeal against his decision he would recommend relief for them.

Replying to a question he said provincial secretary for education would decide payment of withheld increments to dozens of headmasters and senior science teachers of grade 17.

He said that teachers would have to furnish affidavits, assuring that next time they would give their 100 per cent.

The EDO, however, denied that education department is succumbing to the pressure of teacher unions while taking this decision.

He said that the teachers whose performance was worst should have been given punishment.

But the department has taken lenient view because it was their first case of poor performance, the EDO said adding next time there will be zero tolerance.

Following last year results, Education department had stopped two increments of those teachers, who gave poor performance.

Commenting on EDOs decision, General Secretary of Punjab Teacher Union Rawalpindi Chapter, Azmat Israil said that the decision would have positive impact on teachers’ performance.

He said the teachers could not be held solely responsible for the poor results as there were a lot of flaws in the 9th class results issued by the Rawalpindi board.