Teachers seek regularisation sans reappearing in exams

Around 28,000 secondary schoolteachers were recruited on a contractual basis

NOORPUR THAL: More than 28,000 teachers recruited in the education department six years ago from districts across Punjab are still awaiting regularisation of their jobs.

Senior Secondary Teachers Mohammad Akmal, Mohammad Akram, Nadeem Abbas and Rana Mohammed Farooq, while talking to The Express Tribune, said under the Punjab Regularisation Act 2018, the teachers appointed since 2014 above grade 16 had to pass the Punjab Public Service Commission’s (PPSC) exams for permanent employment. They said all the teachers had already passed the National Testing Service’s tests before they joined the department.

“We have been recruited on the basis of merit after clearing the exam and this condition is tantamount to playing with our future,” a teacher said. They said teachers recruited in other categories had been given the status of regular employees with all benefits.

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The teachers said even after passing the PPSC exam, many years of service will not be counted and they will be forced to continue serving under the new appointment.

Around 28,000 secondary schoolteachers were recruited from 2014 to 2016 on a contractual basis.

The teachers said they were facing an uncertain future as they could be removed anytime and they could not apply for jobs in other departments during the period since their appointment. They appealed to Chief Minister Usman Buzdar to waive the condition of appearing in the exams for them, adding that they had also raised the issue with elected representatives of their areas.

The teachers said they would have no other option but to protest on the roads if their problem was not solved.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 5^th, 2020.