Teachers appointed seven months ago await salary

Education secretary urged to order immediate release of dues

TARBELA GHAZI:

Newly appointed primary school teachers in Ghazi Tarbela tehsil of the Haripur district have been deprived of their salaries even after seven months of their appointment due to the alleged negligence of the education department.

Sources privy to the situation said a month after the transfer of the sub-divisional education officer (SDEO), the charge of deputy district education officer (DDEO) has not been assigned to anyone, which is creating difficulties for other teachers too.

They said the appointments of the female primary school teachers were made on September 3, 2022. At the time, the Haripur DEO had made it mandatory that the salaries of these newly appointed teachers would not be released until the verification of their documents. Sources said the verifications issued by some of the teachers' examination boards were sent to the department concerned but the documents mysteriously disappeared from the office. Meanwhile, the teachers also did not submit the documents again.

It was also told that the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa education director had issued an instruction to all DEOs that the salaries of these teachers should be released and the report should be sent to the directorate at the earliest.

They further said the cheques issued by the accounts office were sent to the SDEOs on March 1, 2023, however, the post of Ghazi tehsil SDEO (female) was still vacant and the temporary charge of dealing with salaries and other matters has not been handed over to anyone yet.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 17^th, 2023.