Posting orders for associate professors caught in red tape

Islamabad: Despite the issuance of promotion notification of 21 associate professors by the Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training on September 24, 2019, the Federal Directorate of Education (FDE) hasn't posted them on their vacant seats.

The associate professors include 14 women and seven men belonging to the federal government colleges of Islamabad. Until they get posting orders by the FDE, which regulates government colleges in Islamabad, these senior teachers will continue to be without the pay benefits of the grade to which they're promoted.

The delay caused by bureaucratic hurdles has led to a huge financial and service loss to associate professors. An official of the ministry told 'The News' that the issuance of posting orders after the issuance of promotion notification was a matter of a day or two but the file seemed to get stuck in red tape at the FDE.

“The FDE’s indifference is responsible for the misery of promoted associate teachers,” he said. A teacher awaiting joining orders expressed deep concern about the unusual delay and said the FDE had issued the posting notification of model colleges in October but the FG college teachers were deprived of the due right of promotion benefits due to non-issuance of posting orders. “This is discrimination, which has caused unrest among teachers,” she said.

Another teacher alleged discrimination after being passed over for posting orders for the teachers of FG colleges. “Precious time of teachers is being wasted in pursuing their posting order case which else can certainly be spent on promoting academic excellence of students,” he said.

Dismayed by an inordinate delay in the issuance of posting orders for promoted associate professors, a representative of the Federal Government College Teachers Association said the FDE had adopted a discriminatory policy towards the Federal Government colleges and thus, demoralising their staff members, especially teachers.

“The directorate should immediately issue the posting orders and if that doesn't happen, the teachers will be left with no option but to protest to claim right,” he said.