PESHAWAR: The Malakand University has posted most of 18 permanent teachers of the cash-strapped constituent University Public School and College (UPSC) as clerks to its different departments after changing their designations.

“It’s strange that permanent teachers have been made clerks, while the administration has replaced them with daily wagers,” an official of the university told Dawn.

A senior official said the re-designated teachers would get proper promotion and pension after absorption in the university.

He said the university and UPSC were established in 2001 but as the statutes for the UPSC couldn’t be made in the last 18 years, the service structure of teachers, their promotion and pension were not defined in official documents.

The official said the UPSC principal, who had around 15 years experience of working in the education sector, had been posted as the assistant provost to the Piran Batkhela women’s campus, while a retired colonel had been recruited as the principal on a fixed pay of Rs100,000 per month.

VC says teachers from cash-strapped constituent college will get proper promotion after absorption

He said the change in the teachers’ services began two months ago and was in progress as the university administration had decided to transfer all permanent teachers from the school hit by financial crisis for several years.

The official said several teachers had been transferred to different departments but they were not assigned any duty.

According to official documents, the teachers were absorbed in different departments of the university including Islamic studies, department of zoology, examination section, women campus Piran Batkhela, department of biochemistry, law department, chemistry department, computer science and IT etc.

“In 2007, we were appointed on contractual basis and were regularised afterward. It is strange to be work as a clerk now after teaching students for many years,” a teacher told Dawn.

He said the teachers had been serving in the same grade for more than a decade as they couldn’t be promoted in the absence of statutes.

The teacher alleged that the teachers hired on daily wages lately were recommended by the local politicians.

When contacted, Vice-Chancellor of the university Prof Gul Zaman said all regular employees of the University Public School and College would be absorbed in the university as recommended by the syndicate in view of the prolonged poor financial condition of the school.

He said 18 teachers had so far been posted to the university, while the remaining permanent teachers and staff members would also follow suit.

“We have hired teachers on daily wages and the school will not pay salaries to them in the vacations,” he said.

The VC said the Higher Education Commission didn’t own the school as it didn’t release funds to it.

He said salaries were paid to the staff members from the money generated by student fees but that we not sufficient.

“Before permanent employees were transferred to the university, the school faced Rs13 million annual loss,” he said.

The VC said the absorption of regular employees in the university and hiring of the teachers on daily wages would enable the school to earn Rs3 million annually. He said the monthly student fee ranged between Rs700 and Rs1,800.

The VC said the school would not be in a position to pay pension and gratuity to employees on retirement, so they’re absorbed in the university.

He said he was making all efforts to overcome the school’s financial losses.

Published in Dawn, January 21st, 2020