Punjab Teachers’ union boycotts PEC’s examinations

Wages of 0.15 million teachers across province have been delayed for past seven months

LAHORE: The Punjab Teachers’ Union (PTU) has announced that it will boycott the Punjab Education Commission (PEC) examinations for grade five and eight because they have not been paid for the services they rendered during the beginning of the year.

The wages of around 0.15 million teachers, including data entry operators, paper checkers and examiners have been delayed for the past seven months.



Sources within the budget department revealed that each teacher is supposed to be paid between Rs8,000 and Rs10,000 for being on duty during the exams. However, due to a shortage of funds the wages have been delayed.

PTU Secretary General Kashif Shehzad Chaudhry stated that teachers all across the province are protesting and are demanding that they be paid.

“Many teachers have visited the Punjab School Education Department (SED), but have not received positive responses,” said Chaudhry.

Teachers get paid around Rs4,000 for conducting examinations. Multiply that by two for conducting the grade five and eight examinations. That is approximately Rs8,000 that every single teacher needs to be paid, he explained.

“I have personally written two letters to SED but so far have not gotten a positive response. Teachers under the banner of PTU will boycott PEC’s exams and will also protest,” he maintained.

The commission cannot conduct the exams without us. We do not wish to cause any inconvenience but our hands are tied, he said.

An official from the budget department requesting anonymity told The Express Tribune that the teachers have not been paid due to a shortage of funds. We are planning to adjust this discrepancy in the forthcoming budget, he added.



Meanwhile, PEC has initiated the registration process for the examinations. However, they have not yet gotten any responses from schools’ administration as teachers have chosen to boycott which has also alarmed students and parents.

Approximately 0.38 million students from grade five and eight appear for PEC’s annual exam.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 24^th, 2018.