Contracts of 2,500 Punjab lecturers

Contracts of 2,500 Punjab lecturers
Lahore: The contracts of lecturers recruited in 2005 are beginning to expire from Tuesday (today) and the incumbents fear stoppage of their salaries in case their services are not regularised or their contracts not renewed.

The All-Punjab Professors and Lecturers Association (APPLA), a newly-formed body, has made representations to the Punjab higher education department two weeks ago to take action well in time for smooth functioning of their jobs.

APPLA president Zafar Khan Jadoon, senior vice-president Zahid Mian and secretary-general Nadeem Anwar said there were about 2,500 lecturers, who would be claiming regularisation of their services on completing five-year term.

The APPLA leaders have also demanded that about 700 contract lecturers belonging to the 2002 batch should also be regularised. They said that these lecturers' regularisation was deferred on the pretext that either they were on study leave, showed below board or university result pass percentage or showed no results in their subjects. They claimed that some lecturers were not regularised who showed just one or two per cent below the board or university results.

They said that a number of lecturers were either serving in remote areas or had no students of their subject and they had to teach some compulsory subjects on the direction of their respective principals.

When contacted, Punjab higher education secretary Ahad Khan Cheema said no contract teacher would face suspension of his/her salary as the department was working on all such issues. He said that most contract lecturers were recruited in May 2005. He said that a number of lecturers not fulfilling the criteria in letter and spirit were also regularised.

To a question, he said the department had sought advice from the regulations department about the regularisation of lecturers, who remained on study leave. Dawn