Absence of promotion formula irks teachers

Islamabad
Federal Directorate of Education (FDE) has till now been unable to structure a promotion formula for the lady teachers of the junior sections of Islamabad model colleges since they were federalised in 1992. It is worth mentioning here that the senior section of the model colleges was immediately blessed with 4-tier promotion formula when FDE took these colleges under its administrative control in 1992. (According to 4 tier formula, there should be 50 per cent lecturers in grade 17, 34 per cent assistant professors in grade 18, 15 per cent associate professors in grade 19 and 1 per cent professors in grade 20).
This discriminatory situation has created restlessness and disappointment in the lady teachers. Discrimination with the teachers of junior section speaks volumes of indifference and cold shoulder to their services as the total strength of teachers in senior section of the Model Colleges is around 900 and for that they have 10 post of grade BPS-20, whereas teachers in junior section are over 600 but they have only one post of grade BPS-20. According to present service structure of junior section, the teachers in BPS-16 and BPS-17 are the 90% of the total strength whereas 0.07% are in BPS-18 and 0.028% are in BPS-19 and 0.001% are in BPS-20(only one teacher). This is unfair that in upper grades (i.e. BPS-18, BPS-19, BPS-20), the number of teachers are near to nonexistence which is the major reason of lack of promotion in the upper grades.
The teachers of junior sections of Model Colleges are playing their effective role in imparting quality education to the kids during their early years of academic life, but in terms of promotion and the benefits associated with upward movement in the professional career they are the worst sufferers because there is no promotion formula devised for them. The teachers who are postgraduate and many of them are MPhil and PhD degree holders join as Junior Lady Teacher (JLT) and retire in the same cadre even after spending 30 or more years. Only a very few lucky ones move upward on the promotion-ladder of profession. It is, therefore, need of the time to revisit the service structure of the lady teachers to make this job fascinating and lucrative so that the teachers may exert themselves with more concentration.
A teacher of IMCG, I-8/4 said, “The entire model set-up survives because of the meritorious services teachers perform when a child enters his educational career. Parents trust to send their kids to these colleges because they understand that the teachers of junior section set the kids on their sound educational footing. Total enrolment in junior sections of Model Colleges has crossed 25,000. They take five classes each of 50 students in a day incessantly besides checking notebooks of kids, assigning them homework on their diaries. Beside regular teaching activities, other duties like admissions, renovation and decoration of classrooms make them overburdened.
They always remain busy in college activities but when it comes benefits in terms of promotion these teachers are ignored.
A civil servant in BPS-19 in Finance Division who was herself once a teacher said, “There is no opportunity for promotion, no incentive for the hard working teacher, no funding for higher education, MPhil/PhD, or opportunities to further educational career so I left this profession to join civil service which seemed lucrative enough.”
Farzana Akram, Vice President Central Academic Staff Association (CASA) said, “It goes without saying that a solid and promising pay structure surely plays a significant part in making the class-room presence of a teacher far more effective. The teacher influences the budding minds of the youth. The future of the nation is shaped by her through the attitude that she inculcates in the young kids.” She requests the Minister and Secretary for CADD that the grievances of the lady teachers may be addressed and a promotion formula for lady teachers may be devised on the same pattern of the formula being practiced in the senior sections of the Model Colleges. This step will encourage teachers and young graduates with excellent academic record may prefer the teaching profession over other lucrative professions. This will definitely play a vital role in the promotion of education which is a matter of survival for the nation.
While talking to The News Secretary CADD Khalid Hanif said the working paper is being prepared in this regard and after Eid i-e by the end of this month, the promotion of junior section teachers will be done accordingly. “The procedure takes time, but we are already working on it,” he said.