Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: In a new strategy, aggrieved daily wagers of the Federal Directorate of Education (FDE) have decided to bar former premier Nawaz Sharif and his daughter Maryam Nawaz Sharif from entering an accountability court (NAB) tomorrow (Tuesday).

Hundreds of FDE daily wagers have been staging a protest in front of the National Press Club for over two weeks against non-regularisation of their jobs and their pending salaries since June last year. However, authorities concerned are least bothered towards their plight.

Talking to Daily Times, a daily wager teacher said, “Finding respite from nowhere despite the weeks long strike we have decided to stop both of them from entering the court. The purpose of the decision, he said, was to make aware both influential persons of their dilemma. “We are prepared physically and mentally to bear the consequences of this strategy. Vehicles and tighten security do not matter for us now as we don’t care for our lives,” he said.

Meanwhile, the protesting FDE daily wagers said that they would continue their strike until acceptance of their demands. “We are here until the government gives us some sort of concrete indication for regularisation in the form of an official letter,” they added.

Currently, around 2,250 daily wagers are serving in 423 educational institutes of the FDE. They have boycotted classes in their respective schools and colleges. An official in the FDE had earlier said that the call for strike would badly affect the academic activities as the annual examinations were going to be held after a couple of months. “The authorities should take the issue seriously,” he suggested.

He further disclosed that the annual examinations are going to be held in March and the central exam of grade five would be held before the annual examination but students have still not covered the syllabus.

“These are very important months for students as besides covering the incomplete syllabus, the teaching staff is responsible for revision of the course before the exams of Federal Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education (FBISE) are held,” added official.

The official said that deficiency of a huge number in teaching staff due to protest has started impacting the academic performance of the children as the principals are managing the classes with less number of teachers.

“Already there is shortage of nearly 4,000 teachers in the educational institutions working under the FDE and in current situation the burden has been shifted on the permanent teachers who have to take more classes than routine,” he claimed.

The issue of daily wagers of FDE remained un-resolve. So far, they had staged many demonstrations and strikes but of no avail. Several forums, including Supreme Court, lower courts and standing committees of both the houses had issued directives for their regularisation.

In 2009, a Committee by Syed Khursid Shah of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) for Regularisation of Contractual Employees had directed authorities concerned to regularise some 100,000 daily wagers, who had been working at various federal departments and ministries.

A few years ago, as per the information, the Capital Administration and Development Division (CADD) Ministry regularised thousands of employees in the light of the committee’s recommendations at Polyclinic, Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) and other allied departments.

Furthermore, after coming into power in 2013, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government regularised over 11,000 employees of various cadres working in different federal entities.

The Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training had also confirmed regularisation of 63 employees in December last year on same ground.

Published in Daily Times, January 22^nd 2018.