Corrupt practices: Protest against education officer enters fourth day

Several govt schoolteachers accuse official of demanding bribes.

TORGHAR: Teachers of various government-run primary and middle schools of Torghar continued their protest against the district’s education officer (DEO) for the fourth consecutive day on Monday, demanding his transfer.

The teachers, who have accused the DEO of demanding bribes from them, have been staging a sit-in outside the DEO’s office in district headquarters Judba since Friday.

Addressing the teachers, Zubair Shah, the president of All Teachers Association Torghar, claimed DEO Gohar Ali demanded bribes for the release of accrued salaries of teachers who were promoted to a higher pay scale a few months ago.

According to Shah, the DEO had already taken Rs5,000 from 21 women teachers and was demanding the same from male staffers in return for signing the orders for the release of their salaries.

The association’s general secretary Ilyas Khan, a government teacher, also accused the DEO of harassing female teachers and appointing six Class-IV employees after accepting bribes.

The protesters demanded an enquiry into the matter and Ali’s transfer.

On the other hand, DEO Ali rejected the allegations and instead accused the teachers of “sabotaging the education department’s efforts for increasing literacy in the largely underdeveloped district with the lowest literacy rate”.

He added the outstanding salaries would be paid soon.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 8^th, 2014.