DERA GHAZI KHAN, Jan 18: As many as 1,300 female teachers of primary schools have not been able to draw their salaries because of the “cumbersome” new procedure adopted by the education department for payment of salaries.
Sources said that under the new procedure, each teacher was required to open an account at the National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) to draw her salary. However, the NBP is demanding Rs25 as the salary disbursement allowance, which the teachers do not want to pay.
Female teachers told Dawn that the new procedure for drawing salaries was difficult as they had to spend a lot of time in the “odd atmosphere” of the bank. They demanded restoration of the old system in which the headmistress was responsible for drawing salaries of the rest of the staff.
The assistant education officer concerned also said that the old system was suitable for female teachers, in which only one person had to go to the bank. She also demanded restoration of the old system for convenience of the female staff.
CANCELLED: The scheduled tehsil council’s meeting could not be held as the tehsil administration spread rumours of its cancellation on behalf of the tehsil Nazim to avoid corruption charges levelled against him by members and the tehsil Naib Nazim.
Tehsil Nazim Aasim Zubair Khosa of the Millat Party have differences with Naib Nazim Hafiz Khalid Rauf of the Jamaat-i- Islami. The Naib Nazim had surfaced the corruption of tehsil Nazim with documentary evidence during a press conference. Due to this reason, the tehsil council session could not be held for the last several months because the tehsil Nazim never wanted it to be held apparently to save his own skin.
The members led by tehsil council convener Hafiz Rauf held an emergent meeting in the session hall and condemned the unlawful act of Nazim Aasim Khosa and TMA officers to camouflage the alleged corruption.
The convener alleged that the tehsil Nazim had made money through taxes, illegal contracts and nepotism as he deputed low grade officers on higher posts. The convener fixed Jan 20 for the assembly of council members in which the tehsil Nazim would be charged.
The members invited the NAB and the Punjab local government secretary to take notice of the affairs of the Dera TMA.
Saifullah Buzdar, Zareena Ijaz, Kaneez Fatima, Muhammad Hashim, Muhammad Haneef, Sheikh Muhammad Rafi, Wajid Sherwani, Naseem Akhtar, Shehnaz Iqbal and Rahat Jabeen also spoke on the occasion.