‘Ghost’ teachers being chased, SHC told

The teachers had approached the court against non-payment of salaries.

KARACHI: Over 200 ‘ghost teachers’, most of them hailing from the former education minister’s home district of Dadu, have been suspended and being investigated over fake appointments, the Sindh High Court was informed on Wednesday.

This was disclosed by the Karachi district education officer, Abdul Wahab Abbasi, while submitting a report of inquiry into the appointments of 234 school teachers in different government schools in the city.

Nawaz Ali, along with 233 others, had gone to the court against the non-payment of their salaries. Abbasi informed the two judges that a three-member inquiry committee was formed on February 28, to survey the government schools where the 234 petitioners were posted. The committee observed that no one was seen in any of the schools.

He told the court that almost all the attendance rolls were left blank, adding that the committee was told that the relevant persons had gone to their village. The committee had confirmed that the teachers’ documents, including the domicile, permanent residential certificate, CNICs, medical, police verification and qualification certificates were prepared after the issuance of appointment letters, hence all were fake.

“It was also proved from the records that none of the petitioners had appeared in the tests or interviews conducted by the relevant directorate,” the director claimed. The officer explained that it was a pre-requisite for appointments that the person being appointed should be a permanent resident of the relevant district. The petitioners had,however, shifted to Karachi after procuring the fake appointment orders.

Abbasi told the judges that proper procedure of appointment had not been followed by the officials, due to which they were suspended and were being proceeded against, under the Removal from Service Ordinance 2000/2001.

The bench adjourned the hearing to enable the petitioners’ lawyer to file his reply by the next date of hearing.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 13^th, 2014.