Selective approach in laptop scheme riles college teachers

LAHORE
A recent notification by the Higher Education Department with regard to giving laptops to only college science teachers has caused trouble among arts teachers and principals.
According to a notification, a copy available with The News, the Higher Education Department (HED) is planning to distribute laptops among the college teachers of selected subjects including Physics, Chemistry, Biology (Botany & Zoology), Mathematics, Statistics, Computer Science and Library Sciences and Librarian. The department has sought information about teachers of the subjects across the province.
Talking to The News, a number of teachers and principals termed the move “discriminatory” and “discouraging”, saying the teachers of social sciences and arts and humanities had been ignored by the department. They said it was strange that the department even ignored the administrative heads of colleges and principals in the scheme meant to facilitate and empower the government officials.
The notification circulated to principals across Punjab by HED Deputy Secretary (B&F) Khalid Bashir reads that only regular members of college cadre (contract or permanent) will be eligible for laptops and the teachers already receiving laptops from any public sector scheme (federal & provincial) will not be considered for laptops. Similarly, teachers having foreign nationalities and serving outside the Higher Education Department on deputation will not be considered for laptops. A faculty member, teaching journalism, at a public college in the City, said it was strange that the department had totally ignored the teachers of social sciences and arts and humanities and questioned what was the logic for giving laptops only to the teachers of science subjects?
Another teacher said the idea to equip college teachers with latest technology was wonderful, but it should not be confined to only selected teachers. He said the Punjab government and the federal government had awarded laptops to thousands of students of schools, colleges and universities. But when it comes to teachers, the department has starting discriminating on the basis of subjects, he added. Similarly, a principal, seeking anonymity, said it was a discriminatory move to give laptops to only teachers of science subjects and the principals and other teachers had been ignored despite the fact that principals needed laptops for the nature of their job. Sources in the department said the move is most likely to receive strong reaction from the PPLA, a representative body of college teachers in Punjab, for ‘dividing’ the teaching community.
When contacted, the newly-posted HED Secretary, Muhammad Aslam Kamboh, said no final decision was taken on giving laptops to college teachers. He said there may be some confusions, adding the department at the moment was only collecting data of the teachers. When asked as to why the notification mentioned award of the laptops, Aslam Kamboh said: “We collect data in routine in order to have the same ready and set priorities for future initiatives.” To a question, he said there were around 21,000 sanctioned posts of college teachers in Punjab. The News could not reach Deputy Secretary Khalid Bashir.