Teachers’ low pay triggers heated debate in KP Assembly

PESHAWAR: A heated debate broke out in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly over the salaries of teachers working in second-shift government schools and non-formal schools for girls, after lawmakers said they were being paid below the minimum wage set by the provincial government.

The issue was raised during the third consecutive day of budget debate by Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf lawmaker Ubaidur Rehman. He told the house that thousands of teachers working in the second shift in state-run schools were facing exploitation because they were being paid less than the minimum wage. According to him, the minimum wage for the outgoing fiscal year was Rs40,000, but these teachers were receiving Rs25,000.

He also said the teachers were receiving their pay after delays of three months and had to go through multiple difficulties before getting their salaries. He urged the government to review their pay and ensure that they were at least given the minimum wage fixed for unskilled labour.

Speaker Babar Saleem Swati, who chaired the session, interrupted the debate and said it was unjust for teachers to be paid below the minimum wage. He summoned Elementary and Secondary Education Minister Arshed Ayub Khan and Chief Minister’s Adviser on Finance Muzzaamil Aslam to brief the house on the matter, noting that both were present in the lobbies.

During the discussion, the speaker said the government had announced a minimum wage of Rs45,000 for unskilled labour in the next fiscal year and argued that this should also be implemented for the teachers in question. He further said that if the education department required an additional Rs3 billion or Rs4 billion to meet this obligation, the government should release the amount without delay.

Finance adviser Muzzaamil Aslam told the assembly that the teachers were working under the Elementary and Secondary Education Foundation. He said their positions were part-time rather than regular posts, and added that their pay had been fixed separately and was not tied to the minimum wage.

Speaker Swati criticised that position and questioned why teachers were being treated in that manner. He directed the education minister to revise the agreement made with the teachers and asked that officials of the education foundation who had signed what he described as a cruel agreement be removed from their positions.

Responding in the house, Education Minister Arshed Ayub Khan said he had no objection to extending the minimum wage to the affected teachers.

“We will send a summary to the cabinet for approval in this connection,” he said.

Separately, lawmakers from Hazara division voiced concern over what they described as insufficient allocations under the development package announced for the region by Chief Minister Mohammad Sohail Afridi. They called for a meeting with the chief minister to seek an increase in funds for Hazara division.

The assembly session was still under way at the time the report was filed.