Govt ‘exorcises’ over 2,000 ‘ghost teachers’
Girls recite their lesson while attending their daily class at a government school in Peshawar on October 29, 2014. PHOTO: REUTERS
The Sindh Education Department has stopped the salaries of over 2,000 teachers declared as 'ghost employees' following a departmental inquiry, officials said on Friday.
These teachers were drawing salaries from Sindh government, but not working. Subsequently, the Sindh education department wrote a letter to the provincial accountant general to stop the salaries of 2,019 ghost teachers.
Following the letter of the education department, the AG Sindh has stopped disbursement of salaries to the ghost teachers. Sindh education secretary Akbar Laghari said they will sack the teachers who are receiving their salaries at home.
As per education department officials, salaries of 144 ghost teachers from Karachi, 132 from Hyderabad, 114 from Mirpurkhas, 464 from Qambar, 190 from Jacobabad, Dadu 102 and 182 from Benazirabad districts have been stopped. Furthermore, the salaries of 128 ghost teachers identified in Shikarpur, 89 in Naushero Feroze, 155 in Larkana and 28 in Sanghar have also been seized
Offer letters cancelled
Sindh Education Department, after an inquiry, rejected the offer letters of two men who had qualified for appointment as primary school teachers. Both the candidates were living abroad and had acquired employment in Sindh Education Department.
According to the investigation committee headed by Education Department Secretary Akbar Laghari, PST candidate Abdul Waheed got offer letter by taking advantage of his brother's likeness.
Waheed submitted police verification and medical report of Civil Hospital Dadu. However, when it transpired that Waheed was impersonating his brother, the offer letter was cancelled.
Separately, Nader Ali Rind, belonging to Dadu, received his offer letter on May 16 himself. As per passport immigration stamp, Nader Ali arrived in Pakistan on January 29, 2022 and after completing joining process, Nader Ali left the country again on June 23, 2022.
Nader Ali's recruitment was suspended for not joining the service after the summer vacation of June-July. There were also reports of neglecting the regulator at the stage of issuing offer letters to candidates. When the matter came to media, an inquiry was conducted. Sindh Education Department has also written a letter for departmental action against four officers.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 26th, 2022.