Teachers urge PM to give them better deal

Demand same perks, privileges as those available to employees of other ministries and departments

ISLAMABAD: The teaching community employed at government schools in the capital have demanded that the prime minister help them secure their due rights which were available to employees of other federal government departments.

A representative body of school teachers on Monday wrote a letter to Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, urging him to help resolve their longstanding issues so that they may perform their duties with ease.

In the letter, the Federal Government Teachers Association (FGTA) has demanded that PM Abbasi announce a special package for them on World Teachers’ Day which falls on October 5.

It said that the Prime Minister’s Education Reform Programme has allocated billions of rupees for uplifting public educational institutions, but has not outlined anything for people who teach in these institutions.

“Teachers who have to impart knowledge can do much better if certain measures are taken for their betterment and to ease their mental stress,” the letter said.

They have demanded a revision of the four-tier promotion formula which has been pending since 2011, restoration of higher qualification increment, introduction of education allowance on the analogy of health allowance, payment of rental allowance along with monthly salary and upgrading of elementary school teachers from basic pay scale grade 14 to 16 like the model colleges.

They also demanded the introduction of new time-scale promotion structure which guarantees promotion to the next grade every five years, enhancement in Masters in Philosophy and Doctorate in Philosophy allowance – similar to how the Punjab government does, upgrading employees with effect from 2011, introducing hardship allowance for teachers posted in rural areas of ICT, and medical facilities in CDA and Shifa International Hospitals.

FGTA President Malik Ameer Khan said that teachers were among the most deprived segments of government servants in the capital.

“We should also get the same perks and privileges which are available to employees of other ministries and departments,” he argued.

Ameer pointed out that except for teachers, the federal government was paying a secretariat allowance to employees of all departments and ministries.

Despite a court order in their favour, the government has yet to pay them this allowance, he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 26^th, 2017.