ISLAMABAD   -   Chairman Senate Standing Com­mittee on Federal Education and Professional Training Senator Ir­fanul Haq Siddiqui on Thursday directed the Federal Public Ser­vice Commission to regularise the services of daily-wage teach­ers in Islamabad at the earliest and submit an implementation report within 15 days. 

He also asserted that all the pending dues of these teachers must be cleared within a week. The Senate Standing Commit­tee on Federal Education and Professional Training which met at the Parliament House stressed the need to remove all injustices from the system and ensure that the men and wom­en who serve academia in this country are held in high regard and are ensured their rights. 

The statement was made while discussing issuance of notifica­tion for appointment/posting of Junior Lady Teachers at Islam­abad Model College. Chairman Committee Senator Irfan-ul-Haq Siddiqui, while reviewing the matter and while hearing out the teachers present at the meeting said that this is a ‘criminal’ prac­tice and all out efforts must be made to curb this stringently. 

While negating the remarks of Director Federal Directorate of Education who termed the teachers his daughters, chair­man committee Senator Irfan-ul-Haq Siddiqui said that the story would have been com­pletely different had this ‘truly’ been the case. He further said that if Director FDE meant what he said, the teachers in ques­tion would not have been left to struggle, for years, on their own. 

“It was heartrending to see that some teachers had been serving on daily wages since the past 15 years without proper compensation for their ser­vices,” the chairman said while directing the FPSC to regularize the said teachers at the earliest and submit an implementation report within 15 days. He also asserted that all pending dues must be cleared within a week.

Considering the International Islamic University (Amend­ment) Bill, 2023, the committee after reviewing the reservations put forward by the HEC, recom­mended that the Commission may sit with the mover, Sena­tor Mushtaq Ahmed and review the Bill in detail. Reviewing the International Institute of Tech­nology, Culture and Health Sci­ences Bill, 2022, the committee approved the Bill conditionally, thereby after a formal report from the HEC will be presented to the House. The Al-Ala Univer­sity Bill, 2022 was deferred until requirements lined out by the HEC are fulfilled. The committee lauded the stance of the HEC and stated that once requirements are fulfilled, it must ensure that the matter is facilitated. 

Scrutinizing the Public Sector Development Projects (PSDP) proposed by the Ministry of Federal Education, the commit­tee was informed of the various projects taken up by the PSDP including the on-going. Chair­man committee Senator Irfan-ul-Haq Siddiqui was of the view that the ministry instead of moving on to new projects must focus on completing the on-going so that time and money is not wasted. He asserted that the ministry must exert caution while developing programmes to ensure it caters to under-served sections for maximum impact. The Committee strong­ly supported programmes re­lated to women’s development and child nutrition.