LAHORE, Aug 11: As many as 22 male and 24 female general-cadre officers of Punjab education department's school education wing are still being driven from pillar to post for their posting orders four months after their promotion to BPS-20.
These officers cannot draw their BPS-20 salary until and unless they start working at BPS-20 posts. Though the government says that the officers concerned are not being given the higher-grade posts owing to the ban on transfers and postings, the officers allege that they are being denied postings owing to pressure from some lower grade officials occupying higher grade posts.
They also allege that some education department officials are pressurizing them to grease their palms for moving their files forward. As many as 104 BPS-20 posts have been notified by the Punjab finance department as being available in the province, 61 for men and 43 for women, but all the posts for women and 42 for men are currently occupied by lower grade employees.
The Provincial Selection Board (PSB) approved promotion of 40 men and 24 women from BPS-19 to BPS-20 on March 30. Originally, the education department moved the promotion cases of 54 male officers, out of whom eight officers had retired while six cases were deferred.
The Punjab education department later initiated a summary for the chief minister through the Services and General Administration Department (S&GAD) for posting orders of 40 promoted male officers.
It is learnt that one promoted officer, Munawwar Husain Akhtar, who was due to retire on March 31 on attaining the age of superannuation, was posted as a director of public instruction for elementary education. He took charge as the DPI on March 31 and retired on the same day.
In the meantime, an officer whose promotion case was deferred by the PSB, secured a stay order from the Punjab Services Tribunal on the basis of meeting minutes. As posting of the remaining 39 promoted officers was delayed, all the contesting respondents themselves fought the case and got the stay order vacated.
Consequently, the S&GAD secretary moved the posting case of 39 officers to the chief minister on July 24. However, the chief minister approved the posting of only 18 officers.
It is learnt that 15 out of 18 officers have started working on BPS-20 posts while three officers, posted as principals of Government University Colleges of Education at Sahiwal, Multan and Kasur, are being denied posting by the University of Education vice-chancellor on the plea that education colleges' principals are now appointed by the university syndicate.
The remaining 24 officers are being denied posting on the plea that there is a ban on transfers and postings. Another fact that is delaying the posting of these officers is that the remaining 42 posts for male officers are occupied by lower grade officers. The officers holding the posts are also exerting pressure to carry on with the postings.
Meanwhile, it is learnt, that Ashiq Muhammad Alvi of the batch of 21 officers not given posting in the first go, used his connections at a higher level and got posted on July 31. He also retired on the same day.
It is learnt that another promoted officer, Amjad Ali, who has not yet got a BPS-20 post, will retire on attaining the age of super annuation on Friday (tomorrow). Despite the fact that the Punjab chief secretary had personally asked that the postings of promoted officers should be pushed forward, all the 23 officers have become rolling stones in the hands of lower level officials of the education department.
Talking to Dawn, the promoted officers alleged that education department officials were pressurizing them to grease their palms. "As we do not want to bribe the officials to get our due right, we are being victimized," they lamented.
They said that the promoted officers also submitted a request to the Punjab chief minister under the banner of Punjab Government Schools Senior Selectee Officers Association that he should intervene in the matter and pass directions for notifying promotion of the 22 remaining male officers from BPS-19 to BPS-20, which had already been approved by the PSB.
Similarly, the promotion notification of 24 female officers from BPS-19 to BPS-20, already approved by the PSB on April 2, is still pending for reasons best known to the authorities concerned.
The association demanded that promotion and posting orders should be issued for all the eligible 46 male and female officers at the earliest. It was learnt that the chief minister had directed the officials concerned on July 28 that the cases of promotion in the general cadre should be submitted for his orders at the earliest.
As no action has so far been taken by the Punjab chief minister, the association has submitted the same request to the Punjab education secretary and the special secretary of schools on Aug 9 for promotion and posting orders of 46 male and female officers. The association said the delay was causing unrest among the affected officers.