LAHORE: The Punjab government has failed to ensure proper salary package for schoolteachers at private schools as thousands of these schools are paying low salaries to teachers and treat them as daily wagers, Daily Times has learnt. The Punjab government in the budget 2016-17 had fixed minimum wage for unskilled workers at Rs 13,000 to Rs 14,000 but loads of qualified teachers working in private schools were getting a meagre amount of Rs 4,000 to Rs 13,000. Punjab Chief Minister Punjab Shahbaz Sharif announced on May Day that the government had raised minimum wage of labourers and unskilled workers up to Rs 14,000 per month with effect from July 2016. According to survey conducted by this scribe, it was observed that private schools, especially those located in middle class and slum areas are usually operating in residential buildings rather than a specified campus or building. These schools are also paying low salaries to teachers having qualification of matriculation, intermediate or graduation. The said salary is even lower than the salary status settled by government for labourers. However, the salary in major school chains that are usually located in elite areas, is better or equal to government school teachers, but these school charge high fees from students and the general public cannot study get their children admitted to such schools. When contacted, Iffat Ahmar, a senior schoolteacher and educationist, said that in the absence of the rule of law and a proper monitoring system, the rights of people are usually ignored. “Same is the case with the teachers at private schools mainly located in middle class residential areas,” she added. Iffat explained that the recently flourishing business of school franchises did not have any mechanism to monitor salaries of schoolteachers, as they only ask for qualification and teaching techniques but did not pay good salaries. She said such schools pay around Rs 5,000 to Rs 10,000 to a teacher. Replying to a query about the teachers getting low salaries than labourers, she was of the view that even maids now-a-days charge Rs 8,000 to Rs 12,000 per month but teachers who are builders of future, were deprived of their rights. “This is one of the major reasons behind decrease in quality of education in our country and that’s why we are lagging too behind from our neighbours,” she explained. When contacted, Lahore Executive District Officer (EDO) Education Tariq Rafiq was not available for comments.