Ex-teacher seeks medical bills reimbursement

A retired schoolteacher suffering from cancer on Sunday complained his medical bills were not being reimbursed.

Mir Abbas, a resident of Ghaznikhel village in Lakki Marwat, served the Education Department as a primary school teacher for 30 years and retired on January 5, 2017.

Talking to reporters here, he said he was diagnosed with cancer in 2013 and turned to Combined Military Hospital (CMH) in Rawalpindi for treatment which still continues.

Mir Abbas said the treatment cost was Rs3,50,000 in 2013-14. He said he submitted the medical bills at the office of Sub-divisional Education Officer (SDEO) Lakki Marwat but the staff lost the documents and his medical bills could not be reimbursed yet.

The retired teacher said he resubmitted at the SDEO office the new medical bills for 2016 which amounted to Rs2,63,000. He alleged that the SDEO office had been employing delaying tactics for the last three years in clearing the bills.

When contacted, District Education Officer (M) Nazeer Ahmed said the teacher first needed to get his bills signed by the SDEO and he would countersign them later.

When approached, SDEO Qadeer Shah said he had taken charge recently. He said the medical bills in question needed to be verified by the doctors by the CMH Rawalpindi for clearance.