ISLAMABAD: Over 250 junior female teachers of the government-run model colleges in the city allege that the Federal Directorate of Education (FDE) has skewed their promotion by putting them in a different service structure.

It is a grievance that has been simmering since 2012 and arose after former Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani announced upgrading and one-time promotion to all the teachers of BPS-16 working under FDE on November 8, 2010.

A senior official of the FDE said there were two cadres of teachers in BPS-16: Trained Graduate Teachers (BPS-16) of F.G. schools and Junior Lady Teachers (BPS-16) of model colleges.

Teachers say they have unsuccessfully been seeking rectification of the blunder for years

Following the announcement by the prime minister, in the first phase in 2011 the FDE and the Capital Administration and Development Division (CAAD) promoted over 1,200 Trained Graduate Teachers (BPS-16) to BPS-17 with the new nomenclature of Secondary School Teacher (SST).

The official said a year later, in the second phase, 258 Junior Lady Teachers were also promoted to grade 17. However, instead of promoting them in accordance with their service structure, they were given the new nomenclature of Secondary School Teacher (SST).

They had nothing to do with the secondary education as they were primary teachers of model colleges. In model college/schools, there are no such posts, he added.

According to the service structure, the teachers should have been promoted as Senior Lady Teachers instead of Secondary School Teacher. But the blunder put their future promotion at stake.

“Due to the blunder made by the FDE, we stand nowhere now. We are not in the seniority list of model college/school nor in the federal government school/college set-up,” said a female teacher who wished not to be named.

She said the women teachers now found themselves in a blind alley because their cadre was deleted in the documents and technically they stood nowhere with the nomenclature of SST.

According to rules, junior lady teachers are supposed to be promoted as Senior Lady Teacher, then Assistant Headmistress of primary section of model colleges.

Talking to Dawn, Farzana Akram, an affected teacher, said: “We have been moving from pillar to post for the last two years in order to get our due right.”

The FDE, finance and establishment divisions, CADD and the Prime Minister Secretariat have been blaming each other for the blunder. “Our file has been moving from one office to the other for the last two years.”

She said on the International Literacy Day on September 8, the teachers took up the issue with State Minister for CADD Barrister Usman Ibrahim, who assured them that he would look into the matter.

Published in Dawn, October 6th, 2014