On the back burner: Teachers, don’t count your chickens just yet
The prime minister’s promise to teachers may not see the light of day as the Ministry of Education devolves.
ISLAMABAD:
Thousands of teachers in Islamabad may lose out on promotions and higher salaries if the Ministry of Education does not manage to push through the package before the ministry is handed over to the provinces. The ministry faces devolution by the end of January as stipulated in the 18th amendment.
Sources in the Federal Directorate of Education (FDE) revealed that the ministry has yet to issue the notification of the prime minster’s package for teachers, while it has constituted an implementation committee, comprised of an additional secretary from the ministry, the director general of FDE and the chairman of the federal board of intermediate and secondary education.
Representatives of the Federal Government Teachers Association (FGTA) are trying hard to get the notification issued. However, their visits to the ministry fall on deaf ears as senior officials are focused on seeking a withdrawal of the decision to dissolve
the ministry.
If the ministry fails to issue the notification soon, the package may just go to
the bin.
However, Federal Minister for Education Sardar Aseff Ahmed Ali and other senior officials are desperately trying to retain the ministry with the centre. The minister has written about the consequences of devolving the ministry to the members of the national assembly standing committee on education and to the chairperson of the implementation commission of the 18th Amendment. In its last meeting on December 21, 2009, the committee advised the ministry to prepare a draft proposal for the implementation commission to not transfer the entire ministry to the provinces.
Azhar Mehmood, president of FGTA, warned that the teachers would not wait for long and would soon come out on to the streets if the announcement is not implemented in letter and spirit.
He said teachers have been fighting for their rights for the past two decades and any further delay in the implementation would have serious consequences.
Background
In his announcement on November 9, 2009, the prime minister guaranteed enhancement in teacher grades, perks and privileges. He assured that the federal government schools and colleges would be transformed into model institutes, to “end disparity and provide equal opportunities” to all the teachers and students of Islamabad
Capital Territory.
Some of the key demands included uniformity in “syllabus and distribution of financial resources, faculty designation, recruitment and promotion, administrative and academic structure of all public sector institutions and formation of a committee with representation of federal government, model and garrison schools and colleges.”
The prime minister had announced an improvement in the posts of teachers working under FDE and the introduction of time-scale promotion formula which would replace the four-tier promotion formula.
Under the new scheme, Matric-trained teachers would be awarded grade-14-instead of the existing grade-9, and undergraduate teachers would be awarded grade-16 in place of the current grade-14. In effect, all school teachers and principals would have the opportunity of making their way up to grade-21.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 4th, 2011.
Thousands of teachers in Islamabad may lose out on promotions and higher salaries if the Ministry of Education does not manage to push through the package before the ministry is handed over to the provinces. The ministry faces devolution by the end of January as stipulated in the 18th amendment.
Sources in the Federal Directorate of Education (FDE) revealed that the ministry has yet to issue the notification of the prime minster’s package for teachers, while it has constituted an implementation committee, comprised of an additional secretary from the ministry, the director general of FDE and the chairman of the federal board of intermediate and secondary education.
Representatives of the Federal Government Teachers Association (FGTA) are trying hard to get the notification issued. However, their visits to the ministry fall on deaf ears as senior officials are focused on seeking a withdrawal of the decision to dissolve
the ministry.
If the ministry fails to issue the notification soon, the package may just go to
the bin.
However, Federal Minister for Education Sardar Aseff Ahmed Ali and other senior officials are desperately trying to retain the ministry with the centre. The minister has written about the consequences of devolving the ministry to the members of the national assembly standing committee on education and to the chairperson of the implementation commission of the 18th Amendment. In its last meeting on December 21, 2009, the committee advised the ministry to prepare a draft proposal for the implementation commission to not transfer the entire ministry to the provinces.
Azhar Mehmood, president of FGTA, warned that the teachers would not wait for long and would soon come out on to the streets if the announcement is not implemented in letter and spirit.
He said teachers have been fighting for their rights for the past two decades and any further delay in the implementation would have serious consequences.
Background
In his announcement on November 9, 2009, the prime minister guaranteed enhancement in teacher grades, perks and privileges. He assured that the federal government schools and colleges would be transformed into model institutes, to “end disparity and provide equal opportunities” to all the teachers and students of Islamabad
Capital Territory.
Some of the key demands included uniformity in “syllabus and distribution of financial resources, faculty designation, recruitment and promotion, administrative and academic structure of all public sector institutions and formation of a committee with representation of federal government, model and garrison schools and colleges.”
The prime minister had announced an improvement in the posts of teachers working under FDE and the introduction of time-scale promotion formula which would replace the four-tier promotion formula.
Under the new scheme, Matric-trained teachers would be awarded grade-14-instead of the existing grade-9, and undergraduate teachers would be awarded grade-16 in place of the current grade-14. In effect, all school teachers and principals would have the opportunity of making their way up to grade-21.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 4th, 2011.