Daily Times

Senior judge at the Islamabad High Court (IHC), Justice Mohsin Akhter Kiyani has expressed his displeasure and anger towards the Education Department for consistently failing to implement the court’s orders.

This issue revolves around the correction of the service structure for female teachers of Islamabad Model Colleges, as ruled by Justice Mohsin Akhter Kayani on June 10, 2022. The service structure of female teachers, commonly known as the four-tier promotion formula, was disrupted in 2011 when the posts of teachers in BPS-16 were upgraded to BPS-17. Despite their persistent efforts, the teachers of junior sections in model colleges were unable to obtain justice through various offices of the education department and finance division.

Consequently, they approached the IHC in September 2020 and filed a writ petition, seeking rectification of the four-tier service structure. Justice Mohsin Akhter Kayani allowed the writ petition on June 10, 2022 and instructed the Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training and the Ministry of Finance to rectify the existing ratio of the four-tier formula within six months, setting a deadline for implementation on December 10, 2022.

However, to the disappointment of the female teachers, the Federal Directorate of Education (FDE), Ministry of Education and Ministry of Finance failed to issue the necessary orders to rectify the four-tier formula in compliance with the court’s verdict. As a result, the teachers were compelled to once again approach the IHC, this time filing a criminal original case against the respondents who did not adhere to the court’s decision. During a hearing on Friday, Justice Mohsin Akhter Kayani expressed his dissatisfaction and cautioned the representatives of the respondents that if rectification orders were not issued by the next hearing, he would issue show cause notices to the secretaries of the Ministry of Federal Education and the Ministry of Finance. Additionally, Justice Kayani stated that he would summon both secretaries to court if the orders were not promptly issued.

Speaking anonymously, the teachers while talking to media persons voiced their concerns regarding the delay tactics employed by the education department. They alleged that the department consistently presented new explanations and excuses during each hearing, raising suspicions of ulterior motives behind the non-compliance with the court’s orders. They believe that the authorities are attempting to deceive the court, as implementing the orders would potentially expose irregularities within the department.

Mumtaz Ali Shergan, the counsel for the teachers, emphasized the current disorder in the four-tier promotion formula. The formula states that 1 percent of teachers should be in BPS-20, 15 percent in BPS-19, 34 percent in BPS-18, and 50 percent in BPS-17. However, the allocation of posts does not align with this government policy. Currently, out of a total of 401 teaching positions in the junior sections of all model colleges, 340 positions are in BPS-17 (85 percent of the total strength), 43 are in BPS-18 (11 percent), 17 are in BPS-19 (4 percent), and only one position is in BPS-20.

This distribution does not adhere to the four-tier formula. If the formula were correctly implemented, there would be 201 positions in BPS-17, 136 in BPS-18, 60 in BPS-19, and 4 in BPS-20. Such implementation would result in swift promotions for the teachers, providing them with the career progression they deserve. He further said that the next hearing was scheduled for September 11, and we expect the education department to comply with the court’s orders regarding the rectification of the four-tier service structure.