5,000 college teaching interns in Punjab unpaid for four months

LAHORE: Over 5,000 College Teaching Interns (CTIs) who were hired as a stopgap arrangement to teach at public sector colleges of Punjab have not received their monthly stipend since October 2014.
The delay in monthly stipend of Rs30,000 per month to each of the CTI has been irking the teaching interns who have now demanded Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif to look into the matter and provide relief to them.
Sources in the Higher Education Department (HED) Punjab said the delay was primarily because of mismanagement and lack of coordination among the HED, Finance Department and the colleges. The sources said since the HED was working without its administrative head for almost a month in the recent past it also provided an opportunity to the officials concerned to ‘relax’ ignoring the plight of highly qualified CTIs.
It is pertinent to mention here that public colleges across the province had completed the hiring of the CTIs through walk-in interviews under the HED Punjab directions in September 2014.
Under the scheme, over 5,000 CTIs were hired for one academic session starting from October 1, 2014 to May 31, 2015 or till the arrival of regular incumbent/ contract appointee (which ever earlier) with Rs30,000 stipend per month. There was no age limit for the candidates to apply for the posts of CTIs. However, the condition of having a master degree with at least 2nd Division in the relevant subject was a must.
These CTIs were hired to overcome the shortage of teaching staff in public colleges. There are over 20,000 sanctioned postsof college teachers in Punjab; however, hundreds of posts have been vacant for the past several years and these are filled on temporary basis through the induction of the temporary lecturers, the CTIs. The CTIs started teaching at their respective colleges from October 2014. However, so far none of them has received monthly stipend exposing the lethargic attitude of government officials and bureaucratic hurdles, the core traits of ‘bad governance’.
Some officials of the HED, The News talked to defending the delay claimed that it was decided that the CTIs would be paid on quarterly basis (after every three months). Interestingly the contracts the CTIs signed did not mention the same and they were supposed to receive the stipend on monthly basis.
‘It is unfortunate that we have not been paid our monthly stipend during the last four months’, said a dejected CTI. Talking to The News a number of CTIs, who wished to remain anonymous, criticised the HED officials and management of their respective colleges saying their indifferent attitude had disappointed them greatly and strengthened the prevailing perception that public sector did not care for its people.
‘The CTIs don’t have a platform to raise their concerns through’, commented another intern while elaborating ‘This has left us totally helpless and therefore there has not been a unanimous voice over the issue of stipend during all these months’.
It is important to mention here that at the time of hiring the CTIs were categorically denied the right to form a union or association. ‘If anybody found indulging in such activities, his/her placement shall automatically stand cancelled’, reads the HED Punjab’s model placement order for the CTIs.
When contacted Secretary HED Muhammad Aslam Kamboh, who joined the office in the last week of January 2015, said the department would take care of the CTIs as they had been rendering great services. He said since the CTIs were not regular employees their payments were not routed through online process which was the main reason behind the delay.
Aslam Kamboh said now the Finance Department had re-appropriated Rs1.43 billion and the funds would be transferred to the colleges to pay arrears to all the CTIs during the ongoing month. He claimed arrangements had also been made to ensure that from March onwards the CTIs receive the stipend on monthly basis.