SC 'reprimands' Punjab CM in teachers' salary case
11 August, 2012
ISLAMABAD: Expressing his annoyance over the Punjab government regarding the non-implementation of the Supreme Court orders to increase the salaries of Divisional Public School (DPS) teachers, the Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, on Friday, said it was the responsibility of the chief minister to address this issue, adding that the constitution was not being implemented.
Rejecting the reply of the Punjab chief secretary, the CJ said, "Shut down the schools if you can't raise salaries. If you are helpless then provincial chief executive would be questioned over the issue."
The chief justice remarked that a teacher in DPS Sargodha only got a salary of Rs 5,000 per month. He added that they were being exploited for last 19 years, which was against the law of equity. A three-member bench headed by the CJ heard the suo motu case, prompted by the application of the Divisional Public School's teachers.
According to the application, a teacher in that school was getting a salary of Rs 4,500 per month, which was lower than the monthly wage of a labourer. During the hearing, Punjab Chief Secretary Nasir Mehmood Khosa appeared before the court along with Sargodha Commissioner Shaukat Ali.
The secretary, requesting the court for some additional time, said that some technicalities were involved in the matter. The chief justice, allowing his request, directed him to resolve the teachers' salary issue in five days, saying the court would protect the fundamental rights of the teachers, as guaranteed in the constitution.
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