ISLAMABAD: Even after many years, the Federal Directorate of Education (FDE) and the Capital Administration and Development Division (CADD) have failed to resolve the issues of teachers who joined schools in the federal capital under the wedlock policy, deputation or as daily-wagers.

Under the wedlock policy, over 200 teachers joined the FDE during the last 15 years.

Former prime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani had directed CADD to retain and absorb the female teachers in different schools under the wedlock policy.

CADD, FDE also fail to resolve issues of deputationists and daily wage teachers

However, so far CADD and the FDE have not implemented the decision of the former prime minister.

There are also a large number of teachers working in various schools on deputation but their issue is also lingering as they are unwilling to go back to their parent departments after completing their five-year term.

“The issues of teachers under the wedlock policy and deputation are old ones and should have been resolved by now. We have finalised things and decided in principle to absorb those who joined the FDE under the wedlock policy,” FDE Director General Hasnat Qureshi told Dawn.

He said the FDE and CADD had decided in principle that all those eligible teachers working under the wedlock policy would be absorbed in the capital. But there is a little difference of opinion between the FDE and CADD, he added.

“The FDE wants to absorb all those who meet the criteria in one go while CADD is of the view that absorption should be made keeping the regional quota in view. To remove this hitch, we have decided to seek an opinion from the Establishment Division,” the FDE chief said.

Besides, the issue of hundreds of daily-wage employees has also been lingering for several years. Currently, there are around 2,000 teaching and non-teaching staff working in various educational institutions. However, the FDE has failed to resolve their issue.

“The services of those who fulfil the criteria and have been producing good results should be regularised and those who don’t meet the criteria should be sent home. For the last over four years the teachers have been protesting but CADD/FDE remained unmoved,” said a school principal who requested not to be named.

However, the FDE DG said the issue of daily-wage teachers was already in the court which had reserved its decision. “We are waiting for the decision of the court,” he said.

Similarly, the issue of computer teachers and lab in-charges is also pending for many years. The computer teachers joined the FDE under a project and after its completion their issue has become a victim of red tape.

These teachers have been working for over a year without salaries. There is also a serious discrimination in pay-scale of the regular computer lab in-charges. Most of them are working in BPS-12 and around 35 are still in BPS-7.

“Time and again we have raised the issue but to no avail. All issues being faced by teachers should be resolved on a priority basis. Bureaucrats are supposed to resolve our issues but they do not give us priority,” said Federal Government Employees Teachers Association President Malik Ameer Khan.

Published in Dawn, August 7th, 2017