High-level committee to be formed to address grievances of daily wager teachers: Minister

ISLAMABAD, Aug 22 (APP): Caretaker Minister for Federal Education and Professional Training, Madad Ali Sindhi Tuesday announced that a high-level committee would be formed to address the grievances of the daily wage teachers.

He was speaking during a meeting with the delegation of daily wage teachers in the presence of the Director General, Federal Directorate of Education and other officials, said a news release.

Madad Ali Sindhi after listening to the plea of the daily wager teachers, assured them that all his efforts will be directed towards providing relief to the teachers.

He said that a special committee will be formulated to address the grievances of the daily wage teachers.

The representative of daily wage teachers expressed their concerns and requested for regularization of their services.

The representatives of the ministry and FDE briefed the minister that initially they were engaged by Area Education Officers and Principals of Islamabad Model Schools / Colleges under FDE on need basis from time to time as a stopgap arrangement without observing the procedural/codal formalities i.e. advertisement, test. Interviews, regional quota, sanctioned posts and qualification, etc.

In compliance with the decision of the Islamabad High Court, Islamabad in ICA No.340/2017 (Para-123(v)) upheld by the Supreme Court of Pakistan the cases of 551 daily wagers having designation similar to employees in BS- 16 and above were referred to FPSC in the year 2020 for determining their fitness / eligibility for regularization as one time dispensation.

Accordingly FPSC conducted tests on 31.07.2021 and all these daily wagers were advised / instructed by the Islamabad High Court during hearing of the case in Writ Petition No. 2937/2019 as well as by the Head of Institutions, to appear in the test.

But some of these daily wagers did not follow the directions of the Court and preferred to remain absent willfully from the test without any justiciable reasons.

Accordingly, these daily wagers again approached the Court through Writ Petition No.2937/2019 which was dismissed with the directions to the department to conclude the services of petitioners who failed to qualify the test.

In Writ Petition No.1163/2021, the petitioners who remained absent during the test conducted by the FPSC requested the Court to give them another chance to appear in the test. However, the Court did not grant them any benefit.

Accordingly, Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training approached the Law and Justice Division to seek its advice, thereafter and in compliance with the directions of the Courts as referred above, FDE has concluded the services of daily wagers who failed to qualify written test conducted by the FPSC or did not appear in the test.

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