BAJAUR: Teachers of second-shift classes in public sector educational institutions here the other day voiced concern over non-payment of their salaries since 2024 and warned to hold a protest demonstration if their long-pending salaries were not paid within three days.

The decision was made at a meeting of the All Bajaur Second Shift Teachers Association held with the association president Rizwanullah in the chair.

Scores of teachers, both male and female, attended the meeting held at the district administration’s Jirga Hall in Civil Colony, Khar.

Opening the meeting, Rizwanullah told participants that the session was meant to discuss two main points: the pending salaries for the last about 30 months and opposition to a bid by the local education department to re-advertise their positions.

The meeting noted that like other districts of the province more than 140 teachers, both male and female, have been serving in second-shift classes in several public high and middle schools in Bajaur since March 2022.

However, the participants alleged that they had not been paid their salaries since their appointment on a fixed-pay basis, despite discharging their duties with honesty and sincerity at schools, most of which are located in far-flung and hard areas.

“We don’t know why the government/the education department is not paying our wages for our work like regular teachers. This is badly affecting us both financially and mentally,” said many of the participants.

The meeting was told that the second-shift teachers, mostly highly educated, have made a significant contribution to the promotion of education in the district, but have not been paid their salaries since January 2024.

Terming the prolonged delay in the issuance of their 30 months’ payment a great discrimination and severe injustice, they claimed that Bajaur was the only district where second-shift teachers were facing this cruelty and exploitation.

They alleged that officials of the local education department were responsible for the unnecessary delay in payment of their salaries, adding that they had been facing such discriminatory and exploitative behaviour since their appointment.

Published in Dawn, July 14th, 2026