Higher Education Secretary Haseeb Athar has not yet appointed 15 blind college lecturers despite their direct grade 18 selection through the Punjab Public Service Commission (PPSC), said Pakistan Association of the Blind (PAB) Central General Secretary Muhammad Aamir Ashraf, PAB Lahore General Secretary Muhammad Mazhar and Prof Umar Daraz Dogar during a press conference on Tuesday.
The association has appealed to the chief justice (CJ) of Pakistan, Lahore High Court CJ and human rights organisations to take required action in this regard. Ashraf also announced a protest in front of the Punjab Civil Secretariat if their demands were not met. Earlier Umar Daraz Dogar said that he was blind and had been teaching in Government College Sheikhupura but had not been appointed as grade 18 lecturer by the secretary. Other 14 blind lecturers had received a similar treatment, he added.
They were going through mental stress owing to Higher Education Department (HED)’s violation of PPSC rules, he said. Irregularities were found in the Punjab HED during the selection procedure of the principals of four prominent colleges of Lahore in which a candidate Zahid Butt, who did not even apply for the post was short listed for the interview whereas two grade 19 teachers were also short-listed despite the availability of grade 20 teachers which is contrary to the rules.
