Around 300 lady teachers urge lawmakers to pass Family Protection Bill during Parliament’s joint session
Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD
Female teachers serving in various schools of the Federal Directorate of Education (FDE) under wedlock policy have appealed to Federal Education Minister Dr Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui who is head of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P), Law Minister Azam Nazir Tarar of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), leaders of the JUI-F, PTI and other parties to get their bill “Protection of Family Life & Wedlock Bill 2023” passed by the Joint Session of the Parliament.
The bill was earlier passed by both houses of the Parliament but returned by the then President Arif Alvi. Now the bill’s fate is again before the Joint Session of the Parliament that is scheduled to meet on Feb 17, 2025.
If the bill is not passed this time, future of 300 families will be at stake as these teachers have been serving with full dedication and devotion for last many years sacrificing their grades (promotions) and salary raise etc hoping that like many of their colleagues they too would be regularized.
The FDE on the other hand has been issuing these teachers repatriation letters with the directions to report to their parent departments (in Punjab, Balochistan, Sindh, KP, AJK and GB) and a majority of these teachers are working on courts’ stay orders.
The previous government of the PDM led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had promised to absorb these lady teachers in their current schools in accordance with the vision of Nawaz Sharif and Asif Ali Zardari and a bill “Protection of Family Life & Wedlock Bill 2023” was also moved and passed first by the National Assembly and then the Senate of Pakistan. It was sent to President Arif Alvi for his assent but he returned the bill to the Parliament without signing. Now the only way to regularize these teachers is passage of the bill by the Joint Session of the Parliament which is due to meet on Monday next.
While appealing to Dr Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui who is considered a friend of teachers and takes pride in this title they have appealed to Law Minister to include their bill in the agenda and pass it so that their anxiety might come to an end once for all.
Interestingly, there existed 10pc quota for absorption of wedlock teachers in Islamabad’s local schools but a large number of teachers were absorbed too, particularly those with connections in the government, Parliament or institutions. But for last few years, due to some reasons implementation of 10pc annual quota has been stopped. Since then, the number of deputation teachers (wedlock) has been increasing. This oversight has cost the wedlock teachers heavily as they have come from various provinces to join their spouses under wedlock policy.
Now the FDE is sending them back to their provinces but in most of the cases there is no one with whom these teachers could stay back in their provinces as either their parents are no more in the world or their families have shifted here in Islamabad. “Our children are getting education in Islamabad’s local schools and colleges and we’re living a comfortable life. It would be a great injustice meant to disintegration of our family life if we are sent back,” said a representative of the wedlock teachers.
