Teachers of private schools demand pay raise

Educators still getting up to Rs8,000 per month while govt fixed Rs15,000 in 2017-18

QUETTA: The teachers of private schools in Quetta have urged the provincial government to bring their salaries on a par with the salaries being given to the teachers in Punjab, saying Rs3,000 to Rs8,000 per month is highly insufficient to make ends meet.

Talking to the Daily Express on Friday, the teachers of private schools said, “We are getting such a meagre amount, while the teachers of private schools in Punjab are receiving at least Rs12,000 per month.”

The teachers included Ghulam Fateh, Ali Ahmed, Zeeshan, Abida, Shumaila, Farah and others.

“The Punjab government has fixed the minimum salary of teachers teaching in private schools at Rs12,000, while no such step can be seen in Balochistan,” they added. “Many private schools charge hefty fees from the parents, but the matric and intermediate pass, and graduate teachers are getting in between Rs3,000 to Rs8,000 per month.”



They said after working tirelessly the whole month, looking at such a meagre amount brought tears to their eyes. “What can one do in such a meagre amount,” they said.

Balochistan High Court law expert Advocate Erum Mehmood said, “The private schools paying Rs3,000 to Rs8,000 per month to teachers are breaking the law. The Balochistan Assembly in 2017-18 had increased the salary of teachers teaching in private schools from Rs14,000 to Rs15,000 per month and it is the responsibility of all private institutions to implement that decision.”

She said it was the duty of the government to ensure that all private educational institutions followed the law.