PoK: Teachers in Gilgit Baltistan raise concerns over "dubious practices" in education department

Several members of the Teacher Coordination Committee (TCC) of Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) in the Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) region held a press conference to highlight the multiple difficulties and "dubious practices" in the education system in the area.

Several members of the Teacher Coordination Committee (TCC) of Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) in the Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) region held a press conference to highlight the multiple difficulties and "dubious practices" in the education system in the area. The members of TCC during the press conference at the Gilgit Press Club, presented their charter of demands.

"Several officers of the education department are not addressing the problems that are faced by the teachers of Gilgit Baltistan. Even the rights of the teachers that are admissible under law are not taken care of by these officers," they said. They further pointed out that the teaching department is filled with people who get appointed because of dubious schemes like "favouritism, nepotism, religious influence, and even corruption."

Because of this, several teachers who have been serving for more than 25 years don't get timely pay raises, a member of the TTC stated. Members of the TTC also demanded that the members be given their deserved pay rise which has been accepted by the court and has been awarded to some teachers of GB. They also said that there must be no promotions or appointments for managerial positions without taking the right interviews and examinations.

"Lastly, there must be a fully transparent standard operating procedure for promotions and appointments. This will apply to the entire education department, which in the current scenario remains absent. Several academicians and teachers, firstly get promoted or appointed to administrative positions of the department whenever the workload is increased. Eventually, these people are forced back to join back their teaching positions when they are not needed" the leader at the TTC conference stated. While addressing the questions of the press, the members of TCC said, "There are certain rules in place for the teaching department but, these rules are not standard in the department. In the past Supreme Court has given us validation that the demands that we have put forward are our rights. At that time the Supreme Court had also warned the authorities that, if court orders are not implemented, then such an action will be treated as a contempt of court."

The members further stated that if the department suffers from financial problems, then "we are ready to compromise regarding our salaries. However, we ask them to promote us timely, and ensure that our seniority remains intact and we stay promoted". (ANI)

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