ISLAMABAD -  Once again the lady teachers of the junior sections of model colleges have been ignored by the Federal Directorate of Education (FDE) as the newly issued seniority list says nothing about the fate of secondary school teachers (SSTs).
The FDE has recently issued seniority lists of various cadres of teachers of Islamabad Model Colleges in response to the mounting pressure of the Central Academic Staff Association (CASA).
This important document is prepared annually but unfortunately lady teachers of the junior sections of model colleges received it after eight years. This seniority list appeared with scores of errors. About 258 lady teachers were shocked when they came to know that their names in the seniority lists were missing.
In May 2012 these 258 Junior Lady Teachers (BPS-16) of model colleges were upgraded in BPS-17 with a new nomenclature of Secondary School Teachers (SSTs) and they still find themselves in the blind alley because their cadre is deleted in the documents.
However, the seniority lists of Junior Lady Teachers, Senior Lady Teachers, Assistant Headmistress, Deputy Headmistress, and Headmistress were issued but these teachers stand nowhere. It seems to be an ill-designed manipulation whose epicenter is the model college wing of FDE.
"The entire model school set-up is based on these lady teachers. They work like busy bee to earn a respectable name for the model colleges, but themselves have been ignored by the FDE-that did not put up the seniority documents in the fairway," said an official at FDE.
The SSTs (formerly JLTs) see their future at stake because of the prejudice thinking and act toward these teachers. It is vital to treat all teachers equally irrespective of their ranks and sex but the lady teachers are treated as inferior human beings, he regretted.
One of the lady teachers working in the junior section of Islamabad Model College for Boys (IMCB), G-11/1, on the condition of anonymity, said, "The seniority lists circulated in the model colleges carried many errors. The 258 lady teachers of model set-up have been outrightly excluded from this document, which shows the incompetence and irresponsibility and indifferent attitude of the concerned authorities".
It seems that these teachers are not the federal government employees at this moment. The junior section of the model colleges generates more than 85% earnings for the model colleges. It is surprising that administration knows about even the single penny earned by junior section but does not know the number of teachers in the seniority lists.
Seniority of a teacher is a very sensitive issue. The Director Model Colleges should understand his responsibilities. He must see the matter and correct it carefully, he stressed.
Vice President of Central Academic Staff Association (CASA) of model colleges, Gulnaz Rahi, said, "Discrepancies in seniority, delayed promotions, exploitation in teaching work in the form of extra classes, and hiring issues are the factors which are badly affecting the teachers' competence in the classroom. Teachers can give their best only if they are satisfied with their job.
They loose their confidence and their performance when their issues are not addressed. Their satisfaction is directly linked to the administrative support. The management should resolve the problems of teachers to the best extent possible."
Farzana Akram, Joint Secretary of CASA, said, "The seniority list was a much awaited document as for many years fresh seniority list was not updated by the FDE. The teachers are usually found extremely interested to know their proper placement in the list as it is directly related with their future and promotions".
Money is not the only motivation to perform better in jobs. There are many more aspects that the administration needs to take care of to make sure that the teachers are satisfied with their job environment and experience.
Only stress-free environment is congenial to teaching. Such types of stresses of the teachers must be managed so that they do not lose their abilities to effectively manage students, she demanded.