Hundreds of civil servants still working as journalists

List of 200 ghost teachers-cum-journalists compiled by education dept

KARACHI: Despite the Sindh High Court's (SHC) orders, more than 500 government employees, especially teachers, are still working as journalists in violation of the Sindh Civil Servant (Conduct) Rules, 2008.

According to official records available with The Express Tribune, these teachers, assistant professors, professors, principals of various colleges and even doctors and engineers are working as reporters, subeditors, news editors and even editors at daily newspapers and monthly and fortnightly magazines. With the exception of a few, the majority of these employees do not attend government offices and have given preference to their journalism careers.

"We have compiled a list of 200 primary and secondary teachers in various districts of Sindh. They draw their salaries but don't work as teachers," said an official in the education department.



The SHC's Hyderabad Circuit Bench had directed in August this year all commissioners of Sindh to ensure that no government employee worked as a journalist or joined a press club as an office bearer or trade union of  journalists in the province. The order was passed on a constitutional petition filed by a Nawabshah-based journalist.

Sources privy to the development told The Express Tribune that a news editor of a leading Sindhi daily, who also works as teacher at Hyderabad College, hardly visits the college. He had once started a campaign against the then education minister in 2012, when action was being taken against ghost teachers-cum-journalists.

"Pir Mazhar, as education minister, had submitted the district-wise list of these teachers to the Sindh Assembly in 2012. A day after the submission, a massive campaign was launched against him on television and in newspapers," said Mazhar's spokesperson.



Official sources in the services, general administration and coordination department said that show-cause notices have also been served to teaching and non-teaching staff working as journalists in Karachi, Hyderabad, Badin, Sukkur, Larkana, Umerkot, Kashmore, Khairpur, Jacobabad, Naushero Feroz, Sanghar and Tharparkar districts, but no one has responded yet.

Education Minister Jam Mahtab Dahar said that they had asked district education officer and concerned commissioner to provide them with a final list of government employees working as journalists so that action can be taken against them. "No department will be spared. You will find many government employees in all departments working as journalists," he said, adding that after a final report, his department will decide the fate of these people.

On the other hand, the chief secretary issued on November 29 a notification and constituted divisional committees regarding complaints against teachers and other government servants who are working as journalists or performing duties in other departments.



"In each division, the committee will be headed by the commissioner with deputy commissioner and representative of schools, colleges and information department as its members," said the notification, adding that the committees will ensure that government teachers are performing their duties and no teacher or any other government employee is allowed to become a journalist, particularly when it is at the cost of their responsibilities as civil servants.

"The information department has been asked to not issue accreditation cards to these government employees," an official said.

Karachi Information Director Zeenat Jahan told The Express Tribune that she personally knows many government employees who work as journalists, but action can only be taken until a final policy is conveyed to her.



"I have just received a notification about data being collected about these employees but no one has conveyed to me yet to cancel the accreditation cards issued by my department," she said, adding they would now add a new column to the accreditation form under which a government employee would not be entitled to become an accredited journalist.