ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Friday asked the Punjab government to resolve the teachers’ salary issue by August 15.
Hearing the case, Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry directed the Punjab chief secretary to convene a meeting of the board of governors of government schools to resolve the matter. He said violation of the teachers’ fundamental rights was against the constitution, adding that it was the job of the SC to protect people’s rights. The chief secretary argued that Divisional Public School Sargodha was an autonomous institute, not a government school. He said 42 such schools, which were functional in the province, were not given any financial support.
The chief secretary said only the board of governors could increase the salaries. However, the SC rejected the chief secretary’s reply and remarked, “Close the schools down if you can’t raise salaries.”The CJP said a board of governors meeting should be summoned to resolve the matter and the pending salaries should be disbursed. He said the court would issue an order if the Punjab government did not resolve the matter and ordered the chief secretary to submit a report within three days. The hearing was adjourned until August 15. – PT
