Teachers term pay raise ‘peanuts’

Islamabad:Ahead of the unveiling of the federal budget 2025–26, teachers and government employees from various ministries, divisions, and departments staged a strong protest in front of the Pak Secretariat, voicing their dissatisfaction over what they called a “meagre” salary increase and continued neglect of their long-standing demands.

The protest was organized under the banner of the All Government Employees Grand Alliance (AGEGA), led by its Chief Coordinator Rehman Ali Bajwa. A large number of employees from different sectors, including the education department, participated under their respective unions and associations. Among the prominent participating bodies was the.

Speaking to The News, Akram Khan Khosa, President of Federal Government College Teachers Association (FGCTA) who was leading the teachers' contingent, strongly rejected the government’s budget proposals.

“A mere 6% increase in salary is nothing more than peanuts. There are no special allowances for teachers, unlike those enjoyed by other government servants. Our salaries remain significantly lower than those of the privileged class within the bureaucracy,” he said. He demanded that teachers' salaries be brought at par with other well-compensated government servants.

Ayesha Kiran, Senior Vice President of FGCTA expressed deep concern over the handling of the protest by police officials. “We, the female professors, were mishandled by police during the rally. One of our colleagues was injured due to police pushing,” she alleged. Kiran added that the budget proposals were disheartening and failed to address core issues such as the long-frozen house rent, medical, and conveyance allowances, despite persistent inflation.

She also called for a separate education allowance for the employees of the education department. Sobia Masood, another protesting teacher, pointed out the ongoing discrimination in the allowance structure of government departments.

“Employees in many ministries receive executive allowance, special allowance, and transport monetization, but education department employees are deprived of all such benefits. This is blatant discrimination,” she said. “The federal budget has brought disappointment instead of relief to the already burdened and deprived class of government servants.”