Teachers complain about unfair honorarium distribution

Islamabad: As the fiscal year draws to a close, government departments and ministries typically award honorariums to employees in recognition of their additional duties and year-long performance.

However, a growing number of teachers in federal educational institutions have raised concerns over what they called a biased and non-transparent disbursement of these rewards. An amount of Rs 11.18 million under the head of honorarium was appropriated recently.

The amount was allocated in addition to the already approved budget for honoraria, with the intent to recognise and reward educators for performing extra responsibilities beyond their teaching assignments.

However, the honorarium awards are being granted arbitrarily by college administrations, according to teachers from government colleges regulated by the Federal Directorate of Education.

They claim that the disbursement of honoraria is driven by favouritism rather than actual performance and lacks transparency and doesn't have effective oversight from the FDE. Attiqueur Rehman, a senior faculty member, said he had performed intensive extra duties throughout the year, on top of his regular teaching assignments at Islamabad Model Postgraduate College H-8 last year.

"My service record and biometric attendance clearly show that I spent the most hours on campus compared to any other staff member, teaching or non-teaching,” he said. The educator said despite his contributions, he was not awarded the honorarium, and instead, he faced retaliation when he voiced concern. "I was unfairly transferred to Islamabad College for Boys G-6/3," he said, adding that the teachers who contributed far less were rewarded.

A female teacher from Islamabad Model College for Girls F-7/4, speaking on condition of anonymity, said honoraria were meant to acknowledge extra services beyond regular duties, as outlined in the General Financial Rules by the Ministry of Finance. She, however, said unfortunately, many principals ignored those guidelines, favouring certain individuals regardless of merit.

"The nominations are not based on merit or extra duties performed. Instead, they're made on personal preferences and affiliations within the administrative leadership who exercise absolute authority in the selection process,” she said. Teachers argue that such arbitrary and biased practices not only demoralise hardworking teachers but also erode trust in the administrative system.

They educators urge the FDE to intervene and implement a transparent, merit-based mechanism to ensure that honorarium disbursements reflect actual contributions, not personal affiliations.