MIANWALI, July 3: Despite persistent complaints, high-ups of the education department have not paid any heed to hold an inquiry against the Mianwali education office for granting illegal promotions to nearly 200 teachers.

Since long, the district education office has been involved in granting indiscriminate promotions to matriculate teachers on the degrees of certain seminaries without confirming their authenticity.

Such teachers are given a jump in promotion from BPS 7 or 8 to BPS 14 under the leverage of department’s influential people on the pretext of improvement in educational qualification. Strangely enough, most of degrees are issued only by one seminary — Ittahad-ul-Madaris, Mardan.

Intriguingly, the department has reportedly promoted about 200 PTC, SV, DM and PET teachers after they produced degrees of Shahadat-ul-Almia.

The department considers their degrees equivalent to MA on the basis of a notification issued by the Punjab government education department on Nov 17, 1982, which is being referred to in every promotion letter by the DO (secondary).

It may be mentioned that the Higher Education Commission does not acknowledge such degrees altogether. Recently, the HEC has confirmed through its letter issued on June 20, 2006, that sanad of Ittehad-ul-Madaris, Mardan, are not recognised by Wafaq. Therefore, “Shahadat-ul-Almia” sanad issued by Ittehad-Ul-Madaris, Mardan, is not valid.

No other department has ever granted promotions or advance increments on the basis of such degrees for they do not consider them valid.

Likewise, no educational institution or university, including Allama Iqbal Open University, has ever granted admission to any faculty on such degrees. It is interesting to note that such degree confers “MA Arabic/Islamiat” qualification on its holder.

This degree is unique, for it confers double qualification in two different subjects in a single educational session, although other degree-granting institutions all over the world require independent session for each subject.

An inquiry by Dawn reveals that such degrees are ruthlessly being issued through two institutions — Jamia Sirajia, Quaidabad, in Khushab district, some 35kms from here, and Jamia Arabia Tabligh-ul-Islam, Moti Masjid, Mianwali.

During a meeting with the Moti Masjid Mohtamim, it transpires that Darul Aloom Islamia Anwar-ul-Aloom, Ittehad-ul-Madaris, at Par Hoti, Mardan, the NWFP, is actually issuing degrees.

The mohtamim said that admission forms for the examination were sent to the Jamia twice a year and that the form could be dispatched even a week before the examination.

He further said that the institute dispatched roll number slips and question papers to us.

Candidates appeared in the examination in his mosque while the whole examination was completed in a single day. According to him, even candidates, having no basic qualification, are eligible to appear in the examination. Resultantly, every candidate got through the examination with high percentage of marks.

He gave out that the MA Arabic/Islamiat degree could also be obtained without the qualification of matric, FA and BA.

The last promotion order on such a degree was issued on Jan 31, 2006, to teacher Altafullah Khan, SV GHS, Mianwali.

This alarming situation compelled the Government High School, Mianwali, headmaster to lodge a complaint against such promotions availed by teachers of his institution. He sent letters to the district nazim, the DCO, the EDO (education), the DO (secondary) and other high-ups of the department, but to no avail.

To save his skin, the DO (secondary) withdrew the latest single promotion made by him in January 2006, vide his letter of Feb 27, 2006, and deliberately ignored all other such promotions reported to him by the headmaster.

The demoted teacher moved an application before the EDO (edu) protesting against department’s double standards and singling him out as a scapegoat while ignoring others, who still enjoy illegal promotions.

EDO (Education) Maqbool Ahmed Shakir simply said that the DO (secondary) was a competent authority for such promotions and demotions. When inquired about the teacher’s petition, he replied that he had rejected his application because he could not present a permission letter from the department to attain higher education.

About such permission of already promoted teachers on same degrees, he said that he did not want to open the Pandora’s box.

Anyhow, the flow of promotions has been stopped at the moment due to its leakage in the media.

It is further revealed that some of the teachers enjoying such promotions are now appearing in matric and FA examinations of Allama Iqbal Open University.

A teacher of GHS, Mianwali, promoted to grade-14 on the basis of the seminary’s MA degree issued to him in 2002, is now appearing in AIOU’s FA examination with Roll No P319621.

Likewise, another teacher of the same institution has passed his matric examination this year from AIOU with Roll No I-2456198.

An education department official said that the physical education teacher was not even qualified to get promotion on the basis of academic improvements, but the authorities violated all rules without any fear of accountability.