The futures of at least 15,000 employees of the National Commission for Human Development (NCHD) across the country has become uncertain after the Council for Common Interests (CCI) decided that the Federal government cease to give money for the commission after June 30.
Employees of NCHD have now formed an action committee in an attempt to save their jobs, and have decided to launch a protest to save their future. A meeting of the action committee was held in Hyderabad last Friday, and was attended by Wajid Sheikh, Muhammad Saeed Hamza Khan, Daim Ali and others.
Members of the action committee argued that at the start of the new millennium, Pakistan was lodged at 141 on the UNDP’s Human Development Index out of a total of 178 countries. Poverty, illiteracy, lack of healthcare facilities and a continuously soaring population have for long hampered the scope of generating improved social sector outcomes for the millions of Pakistanis living at the grassroots.
Considering the situation, the Federal government constituted a task force on human development in 2001, with the body responsible for contributing fresh perspectives and resources to the development discourse in Pakistan.
Among the key findings of the task force were inadequate capacity and competency, as well as managerial inefficiencies within line departments, elected representatives, private-sector delivery systems through NGOs and CBOs, lack of community participation and decision-making rights, as well as gaps in service delivery, quality, and financing.
The NCHD action committee leaders said that in their limited time, their task force managed to expand its network in 144 district across Pakistan, with 15,000 feeder schools opened in areas where there wasn’t any school in a two-km radius, some 145,000 adult literacy centres set up that made 3.5 million women literate, and training some 5,000,000 mothers to prepare ORS.
The action committee leaders said that at least 15,000 employees will be affected by the CCI decision; at least 4,500 of whom are teachers. They said that budget required per year for the NCHD was Rs 3 billion and a PC-I of this amount was approved till 2012.
They said that decision of CCI about NCHD had made dark future of employees who were working for dedication since years. Action committee announced that a protect campaign will launched against the decision of CCI.