Inspection duty: Women officers may get motorcycle rickshaws

Some officers find the arrangement embarrassing, disgrace to the department.

LAHORE:

The government has decided to provide 220 motorcycle rickshaws to carry women assistant education officers (AEO) so they can inspect and monitor performance of primary schools under the Punjab Schools Reforms Roadmap (PSRR) programme.

The PSRR was introduced in 2011 to ensure cent percent enrollment of students in public sector primary schools. In order to ensure the implementation and monitoring of the initiative, the government has decided to provide transport to its education managers.

The ‘education managers’ include the executive district officers, the district officers, the deputy district officers and the assistant education officers.

Seventeen women AEOs and an equal number of male AEOs are posted in each district. Under the PSSR, they are responsible for inspecting all the public schools in the area.

In a summary sent to the chief minister the department has proposed that the male AEO should be provided motorcycles and share a Bolan vehicle with three women AEOs.

The chief planning officer has observed that given the financial constraints purchase of Bolans would should be deferred and motorcycle rickshaws be provided for women AEOs and motorcycles for the men.

The chief minister’s secretariat approved the new proposal in December 2011.

Some Education Department officials said the motorcycle rickshaws would be an embarrassment to the women AEOs and a disgrace to the department.

Speaking on the condition of anonymity, one of the officers said the department had now submitted a revised summary for a Rs5,000 travel allowance for each female AEO instead of the motorcycle rickshaws.

Till a decision is made on the revised summary, a hold has been placed on purchasing motorcycle rickshaws.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 4^th, 2012.