Teachers dismayed at further delay in promotion panel meeting

Islamabad : The federal government colleges' teachers have expressed displeasure at the third time rescheduling of the Departmental Selection Board's meeting meant for considering the cases of their promotion.

The meeting was slated to February 21 but the Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training put off until February 27 without specifying reasons.

Earlier, the meeting was to be held on Feb 14 but it was deferred to February 20.

A teacher said it was strange since the rule allowed the authorities to hold the promotion meetings twice a year but in the case of promotions of teachers, that rule hadn't been followed.

He said the meeting was about to fulfil the aspiration of teachers, who had been awaiting promotion for years, but its rescheduling for another time had prolonged their wait.

Another teacher said he had got two promotions in his 35-year long career.

"This is very regrettable that the public sector teachers already overburdened with work are being denied promotion. Unfortunately, many teachers pass away or retire in the same grade due to the slow promotion process," he said.

A representative of the Federal Government College Teachers Association, Professor Tahir Mahmood, said there was a need for respecting and rewarding the deserving teachers through promotion in a timely manner.

"Promotion will increase the teachers' performance and efficiency," he said, adding that after the meeting of DSB, the Departmental Promotion Committee and DPC for time-scale promotions should meet without delay to the relief of Islamabad's teaching community.

Professor Tahir said many teachers had already retired awaiting time-scale promotion. "After 2012, not a single meeting for time scale promotions was held. The wait has been made longer," he said.