183 school heads exonerated

Inquiry committee concluded that charges against teachers could not be established

LAHORE: A total of 183 government school heads under-investigation for poor performance since 2016 have been exonerated by the Punjab School Education Department (SED) after an inquiry found that the charges against the teachers could not be established.

According to details, the SED had ordered an inquiry against heads of public schools for inefficiency and poor performance under the Punjab Employees Efficiency, Discipline and Accountability Act (PEEDA) 2006. The charges had been levelled against the teachers in December 2016 and an inquiry was ongoing against them.

The SED finally, after a four-member committee held an inquiry against teachers, decided that the charges against the accused could not be proved, therefore the head teachers had been exonerated. In this regard, the SED had released a notification informing the same along with a list containing the names of the teachers.

The notification highlighted that a committee conducted inquiry proceeding and submitted its report concluding therein that the charges could not be established against the accused officers. Therefore, the inquiry committee recommended that the accused officers may be exonerated of the charges.

“The competent authority after due examination of facts of the case and findings of the inquiry committee, concludes that the charges levelled against the accused officers could not be proved.”

Teachers in the province have been protesting against the department for years against inquiries and punishments meted out to them under the PEEDA Act. Talking to The Express Tribune, Punjab Teachers’ Union (PTU) General Secretary Rana Liaquat Ali said it was unfortunate that the teachers had to go through inquiries for two years. “However, I would like to commend the current Secretary, who have at least completed the inquiry and exonerated the teachers,” he said.

“Some of the teachers have retired, others are waiting for promotions, which were halted because of this inquiry. Now, at least they can get their pending pensions. The department should think about this and stop the lengthy process of inquiries and punishments for teachers,” he remarked.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 26^th, 2018.