Teachers navigate administrative maze for pension

Find themselves moving from pillar to post as new reforms create confusion

ISLAMABAD:

Due to a shift of administrative and financial powers from the Federal Directorate of Education (FDE) to educational institutions in Islamabad, the processing of pension cases for retiring teachers have ground to a halt, leaving many in a state of uncertainty.

The teachers find themselves moving from pillar to post in pursuit of their pension cases but are unable to complete the pension process due to administrative deadlock.

This deadlock arises from the objection raised by the Accountant General Pakistan Revenues (AGPR) regarding the delegation of administrative powers to educational institutions by the Ministry of Federal Education & Professional Training (MOFE&PT). On April 19, the MOFE&PT executed a significant restructuring, decentralising authority to educational institutions of Islamabad. This shift, aimed at streamlining decision-making processes and empower principals and heads of institutions, has inadvertently sparked a conflict over the handling of pension cases.

Previously, pension cases were routed through the FDE, with principals and heads of educational institutions sending the necessary documentation to the FDE for onward transmission to the Accountant General Pakistan Revenues (AGPR). However, following the delegation of powers, the responsibility for forwarding pension cases directly to AGPR fell upon the principals and heads of institutions. This transition has hit a snag, as the AGPR has raised objections and concerns regarding the financial and administrative authority now vested in the educational institutions. In a letter addressed to the education ministry seeking clarification, the AGPR halted the processing of pension cases.

According to APP, the repercussions of this bureaucratic deadlock are felt acutely by retired teachers like Khumar Gul, an Associate Professor at Islamabad College for Boys G-6/3. Gul retired on March 2, 2024, and submitted his pension papers to the FDE for onward transmission to the AGPR.

However, instead of forwarding the papers, the FDE redirected them back to his college, citing the change in the delegation of powers to the educational institutions. Confounded, the college administration then attempted to send the papers directly to the AGPR, but the fate of these documents remains unknown.

Muhammad Shafiq, another retired associate professor of Islamabad Model Postgraduate College of Commerce H-8/4, shared his plight. Despite the timely submission of pension documents through his principal, the maze of administrative confusion has left him without his rightful pension. Similarly, Muhammad Shamoon, another retiring associate professor of Islamabad Model Postgraduate College H-8, faced a similar dilemma when his principal attempted to submit his pension papers to FDE, only to be turned away, citing the transfer of administrative powers to educational institutions.

With no clear directive on how to proceed, Shamoon’s pension papers join the growing list of unresolved cases, adding to the mounting frustration among retirees.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 14^th, 2024.