ISLAMABAD: It seems as though the government is not planning to regularise the daily wage employees serving in model colleges any time soon and the blame is on Capital Administration and Development Division (CADD) Minister Dr Tariq Fazal Chaudhry.
A senior official in the Capital Administration and Development Division (CADD) Ministry privy to the development told Pakistan Today that CADD Minister Dr Tariq Fazal Chaudhry was a stumbling block in the resolution of the long-pending issue, as he wanted to gain political benefit by appointing teachers on contract basis.
The official further said that the services of daily-wage staff members should have been regularised as per the recommendations of the committee formed under the chairmanship of Syed Khursheed Shah back in 2011.
“If the government was really interested in reforming the capital’s education sector; it would’ve taken concrete steps for the welfare of the teaching community, as without resolving their issues, the Prime Minister’s Education Reform Programme would not produce the desired result,” he maintained.
The teachers are still deprived of their due right of regularisation of services as well as timely payment of salaries, he added.
A Young Teacher Association’s (YTA) member said that under the Prime Minister’s Education Reform Programme, the CADD is focusing on improving the infrastructure of educational institutions instead of resolving the longstanding issues of the teaching and non-teaching community, mere focus on improving physical infrastructure of educational institutions would not serve the purpose, he added.
Ehsan Sikandar, a daily-wage teacher, said that the employees could have been regularised in accordance with the Cabinet Policy 2011 approved by the then prime minister; however, the incumbent government has been unnecessarily delaying the much-needed process.
He said that the teachers have pinned their hopes on Islamabad High Court (IHC) for regularisation of their services, as the court gave one week time to the authority concerned to give a clear reply in this regard.
He further said that 1100 teachers haven’t gotten paid since November 2016.
Ehsan said that the YTA gave one week time to the ministry to release their salaries or else they would not perform examination duties last year.
He said that the then CADD secretary sent a summary to the PM for regularisation of the services of daily wagers, however, the premier rejected it on the objection raised by Dr Tariq Fazal Chaudhry adding that the secretary was later transferred to another ministry.
Nadeem Turi, another daily-wage teacher, told Pakistan Today that Dr Tariq Fazal Chaudhry wanted to appoint his own people on a contract basis.
He said that the teachers suggested the committee appoint those daily-wagers regularised by the previous government against the posts lying vacant because their issue is not regularisation but just posting, while the strategy should be hammered out for the remaining to adjust them accordingly.
Some were regularised under the Cabinet policy 2011 approved by the then prime minister but the incumbent government stopped the whole process.
The Federal Directorate Education (FDE) overseen by the CADD has more than 2,200 daily-wage staff members, both teaching and non-teaching, at its educational institutions in the capital, who have been under the employment of the FDE for past eight years.
Dr Tariq Fazal Chaudhry and FDE Director General Ayesha Farooq could not be reached for their comments.
However, the CADD spokesperson said that the daily-wage employees were mainly responsible for the deadlock who wanted regularisation without a proper process.
Otherwise, he said that the ministry wanted to devise a strategy in consultation with the daily-wagers for their regularisation for their services so as not to set any wrong precedent in this regard.
He said that the ministry could do regularisation from grade-I to grade-15 while from grade-16 could only be done with the approval of the prime minister, FPSC and the ministry of CADD.
The spokesman further said that members of the standing committee headed by Senator Talha Mehmood scheduled to visit the Ministry of CADD next week, where along with the representatives of CADD, FPSC and finance ministry, would try to resolve the issue.
It is pertinent to mention here that IHC on Friday rejected the government ‘s written reply in the employees’ regularisation case and adjourned the hearing till February 24.
