Junior section women teachers denied promotion

Islamabad : Around a dozen women teachers of the junior sections of Islamabad’s model colleges feel discriminated against.

The reason is that the Capital Administration and Development Division (CADD) has returned their promotion cases to the Federal Directorate of Education after sitting on them for more than seven months but promoted many lecturers of the senior sections as assistant professors (BPS-18).

In November 2017, the FDE had sent the CADD the cases of 28 model college teachers (BPS-17), including 17 of senior sections and 11 of junior sections, for promotion as assistant professors and assistant headmistresses, respectively.

After procrastinating for months, the CADD promoted all 17 senior section teachers but sent the cases of junior section teachers back to the FDE saying their latest performance evaluation reports (PERs) are missing.

The directorate was told to file those cases along with the 2017 PERs and thus, putting the promotion issue on back burner.

The junior section teachers, many serving in the same basic pay scale for years, declared the act discriminatory and said it was ironic that they were denied promotion but all contemporaries in senior sections got promotion.

They also criticised the relevant CADD officials for first sitting on the matter for seven months and then asking the FDE for new PERs.

A teacher resented ‘discrimination’ saying it will have a negative bearing on the career of junior section teachers.

He said denial of the right to promotion due to the red-tape had demoralised junior section teachers.

“Disappointment and frustration has swept women teachers, who feel ignored, discouraged, humiliated, demoralised and discriminated against,” he said.

Model college teacher Farzana Akram told ‘The News’ that it was very shocking and discouraging to see the CADD ignoring the promotion cases of junior section teachers.

“It is simply ironic that the CADD officials didn’t discuss the cases of junior section women teachers for seven months and later sent them back to the FDE but promoted the senior section teachers,” she said.

The teacher asked the CADD secretary for intervention to end discrimination against junior section teachers by ensuring early promotion.