PHOTO: EXPRESS
They said that the Supreme Court of Pakistan and the Islamabad High Court in their respective rulings had directed the Federal Directorate of Education (FDE) to regularise services of contractual employees.
The representatives of contractual employees told The Express Tribune that besides launching protests, they will file applications in Supreme Court and IHC for contempt of court proceedings against FDE authorities who had flaunted the orders for regularisation.
Despite directions from parliamentary bodies, the court and even the education ministry, the top education body in the federal capital has decided to halt the regularisation process for daily-wage employees in the schools and colleges of the city.
In a statement issued by Young Teachers’ Association (YTA), the officials appealed to federal education minister to take notice of delay in implementation of court orders and resolve their issue at earliest.
They said that they would boycott conducting classes and go on protests if they witnessed no concrete actions even after proceeding of contempt application. They added the related ministry would be responsible for any loss.
Meanwhile, well-placed sources in education ministry told that Federal Minister for Education Shafqat Mehmood has taken strict notice of delay in implementation of court orders. He has directed immediate resolution of the issue along with a detailed briefing of where the issue was currently halted.
Earlier, a division bench of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) headed by Justice Aamer Farooq had ordered on June 22, 2018, to make all daily-wage staff in federal educational institutions up to basic pay scale (BPS) grade 15 permanent, including all those employees regularised by a committee led by Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) lawmaker Khursheed Shah.
Moreover, the court had further directed that permanent employees would have to join their respective institutions within three months.
It had been further directed that the case of regularising and promoting employees from BPS-I to BPS-15 should be sent to the federal cabinet so the move could be formalised.
Chief Executives summoned
The Secretary Education Schools has summoned Chief Executives Officers (CEOs) of district education authorities (DEAs) on August 30.
The presidents and secretaries of all 24 teachers’ organisations across 36 districts in Punjab have also been invited in the important conference.
The conference would be held between 9am to 5pm and will decide future of many decisions suggested by the government.
The conference will discuss 14-point agenda including handing over of education system to municipal bodies, digitalisation of teachers’ data, deployment, promotions, their salaries and pension system etc, out-of-school children, teachers’ problems and others.
Protesting teachers
Punjab Teachers Union (PTU) will stage a protest outside the provincial education minister’s office a day before the conference.
PTU will take to the streets against the government’s decision to handover operations of educational institutions from government to local bodies on August 29.
In this regard, the Central Secretary General PTU, Rana Liaquat, told The Express Tribune that leaders from teaching organisations across Punjab would reach Lahore to participate in the peaceful protest. He added that the government’s decision would wreak-havoc education system and increase political intervention.
He said that handing over the educational system in the hands of local bodies’ representatives would give air to admissions and recruitments on a political basis. He expressed they would not allow the government to play with education anymore.
Rally against oppression
All Pakistan Private Schools Management Association (APPSMA) will organise a huge rally announced a big rally to protest against Indian oppression and constitutional terrorism and to mark solidarity with Kashmiris on Thursday.
The rally would be led by MNA Sheikh Rashid Rafique and Rawalpindi Deputy Commissioner (DC) Muhammad Ali Randhawa.
Education conference
Speakers at the National Education Conference pleaded for effective measures to ensure the proactive role of all stakeholders including private schools associations.
They lauded the role of the private sector for effectively achieving educational goals while addressing the concluding session of a two-day National Educational Conference here at Academy of Educational Planning and Management (AEPAM) - an attached department of Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training.
The ceremony was addressed by the Parliamentary Secretary for Federal Education Wajiha Akram, MNA Ali Nawaz Nawaz Awan, Private School Network President Dr Afzal Babar and AJK Hurriyat Leader Abdul Hameed Lone.
Wajiha Akram said concerns of private sector schools were genuine and the government was committed to resolving these issues.
Highlighting the major developments in the education sector during the last one year, she said that the government had taken multiple steps to introduce uniform education system, with an objective to end injustice in the educational system.
She said madrassas were being registered with education ministry with an aim to provide them with modern education, enabling them to get jobs in any public and private sector.
She said Private Educational Institution Regulatory Authority (PEIRA) was being restructured, adding now it will play an effective and positive role in days ahead. The issues being faced by the education sector would be resolved in consultation with the private school networks, she added.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 29th, 2019.
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