MOST private schools across Pakistan have refused to pay April salaries to teachers despite collecting fees from parents.

For instance, a prestigious school system in Islamabad has informed its employees it cannot disburse salaries for April, claiming that parents have refused to pay the fees. As a result, the organisation has been forced to seek a loan from banks to pay salaries to its employees.

It must be noted that the federal government has allowed the private school association to keep the campuses open for the first five days of each month for fee collection until the lockdown ends.

On the other hand, teachers at the said school have been teaching children online like teachers of other schools during the lockdown. The school management has also been compelling the teachers to visit the campuses for various assignments, forcing them to ignore the lockdown, which can be dangerous to their health.

A teacher at the school says the owner would blatantly justify this act by putting forward different excuses.

Will the authorities concerned intervene and ask private school owners to pay salaries to teachers when they have already collected the fees?

Shahzaib Shaikh
Karachi

Published in Dawn, June 1st, 2020