ISLAMABAD, Oct 9: Abdul Shakoor, 38, is a teacher who hails from Dhader, Balochistan, and has shared a room at a bachelors’ hostel at I-8 Markaz for the last three years. His family – a father, wife and two children – continue to live in their hometown.

This is not because Shakoor wants to save money, rather he has been forced to live miles away from family because the Federal Directorate of Education (FDE) has not allowed him to rent a house.

His application is pending, which means that he cannot get a ceiling allowance and at the same time his small salary prevents him from renting a home in the capital as well. Shakoor is not the only one facing this problem.

There are 1,518 teachers who have applied to rent a house but have been put on a waiting list.

A roughly equal number of teachers have not bothered to apply for the facility because six different forms have to be submitted for filing an application and they know that they will not get the approval.

According to sources, the Education Department is the only department where rules of the federal government are not followed.

The newly-inducted teachers in different grades are not allowed to apply for house hiring/ceiling and by making an excuse of paucity of funds they are put in a queue for up to five years.

The matter is worsened because nobody from the controlling authorities and even politicians has ever given any importance to this problem. Even female teachers have no choice but to live in shared rooms in women hostels.

Those who are married are unable to shift their families to Islamabad. On the other hand, those about to marry are compelled to wait for years.

A newly-married lecturer from Sheikhupura told Dawn that he goes to his native town every weekend.

“It is demand of my in-laws to keep my wife with me. I am moving from door to door, living in a dirty bachelor room with two other persons who belong to different professions and areas. How is it possible for me to bring my wife to Islamabad?” he said.

Another teacher said though he was engaged, he could not marry because he does not have place to stay along with his wife.

Professor Tahir Mahmood, spokesman for the Federal Government College Teachers Association, said, “This is a clear violation of human rights which is happening in the education department only. No other department has put ban on hiring facility for newly-inducted employees. Why are teachers deprived of this facility? Minister for CAD is requested to take notice of this discriminatory behavior of the department so that the new teachers may have a sigh of relief.”

Joint Secretary (Admin) Ministry of Capital Administration and Development while talking to Dawn said there was a shortage of funds due to which teachers could not be paid the hiring allowance. But now CAD is trying to ensure that every teacher gets the facility after competing their probation period.

“I have sought an explanation from the FDE regarding the pending list and will ensure that the teachers would get the facility,” he said.