PHOTO: FILE
RAWALPINDI: Meanwhile, sources in Rawalpindi education department said that the state of affairs is in despair due to vacant posts of non-teaching staff.
Some 65 posts of clerks, assistants and superintendents along with 11 posts of basic pay scale (BPS) 4 junior clerks are also are vacant owing to which the departmental operations are in disarray.
At least 10 posts of superintendents, 20 of assistants and 35 of clerks are seeking employees on them.
In this regard, the officials of All Pakistan Clerks Association (APCA) including Shehzad Kayani, Chaudhry Mubashir, Raja Aftab, and Mirza Touqeer met with the District Education Authority (DEA) Head Azam Kashif to present charter of demand before him. They demanded immediate action on pending promotional cases along with registration of a case against the official of a private schools organisation who slapped a senior clerk.
The officials threatened to stage protests if their demands were not met.
Pindi schools have best teacher-student ratio in Punjab
Recruitment approved
Punjab government approved recruitment of male and female teachers on 822 vacant posts in three tehsils of Rawalpindi.
The recruitment will be done in primary, middle, high and higher secondary schools on basic pay scale (BPS) 14, 15 and 16 while locals would be given preference.
The process would be completed through Federal Public Service Commission (FPSC) until December 31.
The provincial ministries of education and finance have restored promotions given to teachers on acquiring additional qualification.
Earlier, the then government had issued a notification in August 1983 under which the teachers who had completed either MPhil or PhD degree were given increments and promotions.
However, the decision was revoked by ex- President Pervaiz Musharraf in December 2001 and the teachers who were promoted between 1983 and 2001 were demoted to their original scale. This decision had received a backlash from teaching community and the issue went up to Supreme Court (SC).
Meanwhile, the incumbent government has restored promotions of all related teachers and in the initial phase, the notification of restoration was issued for three districts including Dera Ghazi Khan, Layyah and Muzaffargarh.
The notification for remaining 33 districts is expected to be issued next week.
Further, SES Association President Muhammad Shafiq Bhawalia welcomed the decision and demanded its enforcement across Punjab at earliest.
The decision has also halted deduction from teachers’ pensions which was being done for recovering amount of increased salaries that the teachers received. The government has also decided to return the recovered amount.
Helpline for corporal punishment
In a bid to keep check on complaints of corporal punishments and arbitrary increment in school fees, the ministry of education has formed a special cell.
In this regard, the ministry has also released Whatsapp and landline phone numbers while related action on a complaint would be taken on the same day.
The ministry has issued directions to district education officers to display these numbers along with a note in every school.
‘Business community plays key role in making Pindi a model city’
The citizens across Punjab will be able to lodge complaints on two numbers including 0336-7251214 for Whatsapp and 042-99205101 for landline.
Indicators renewed
For better assessment of institutional and staff performance and to drive improvements in the school education service delivery, the ministry of education has decided to revise performance indicators.
The ministry has declared current set of indicators, used for assessing monthly and annual performance of schools and teachers, as ‘outdated’.
The new modified indicators would be prepared within a month while their approval would be given in a conference of district education officers.
The new indicators are expected to be enforced within next three months.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 18th, 2019.
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