LAHORE: The Punjab School Education Department (SED) on Tuesday suspended around 300 teachers for skipping poll duties in different districts of the province, ahead of the general elections.

The SED took action against the teachers who failed to attend the training sessions or refused to perform their assigned duties as polling staff, in violation of the instructions of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).

Among the suspended teachers, the most prominent case was that of Multan Education Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Faiz Ahmed, who was sent to the disposal of the School Department Punjab under the Peeda Act 2006.

Multan District Education Officer Elementary (Female) Dr Shamim Akhtar Sial was given the additional charge of the education CEO, according to the notifications issued by the School Education Department secretary.

Among other suspended teachers included 30 teachers from Multan, 120 from Lahore, 20 from Dera Ghazi Khan, 25 from Bahawalpur, 70 from Faisalabad, 25 from Sahiwal, 10 from Gujaranwala and other areas.

The teachers union, however, expressed resentment over the suspension orders and blamed the department and the returning officers for the chaos.

Punjab Teachers Union (PTU) General Secretary Rana Liaqat told Dawn that the teachers were given double duties and they had joined one station. He said the teachers were suspended for not joining another station and it was the mistake of the department who assigned them double duties.

He also alleged that the returning officers were hurling threats of dire consequences to the teachers and misbehaving and using abusive language against them. He said the returning officers had assigned double duties without inspection and were threatening to arrest the teachers.

He warned that the teachers would come on the road if any teacher was arrested.

Mr Liaqat further said the female teachers were assigned duties very far from their homes, around 50km, and they were not provided any residence and vehicle for transportation.

He said it was very difficult to spend the night at the polling station and they should be given transport to join the duty and return to their homes after completing their duties. He said the polling staff should be facilitated and respected.

The ECP, on the other hand, maintained that the election duties were mandatory for all government employees and that no one could refuse or skip them.

The ECP spokesperson said the commission had the power to take action against any employee who violated the election code of conduct or showed negligence in performing his duty.She said the commission had issued clear guidelines and instructions for the training and deployment of the polling staff and expected them to follow them strictly.

She also said the ECP had made arrangements for the security and welfare of the polling staff and that they would be provided with all the necessary facilities and equipment.

She urged the teachers to cooperate with the ECP and perform their national duty with honesty and dedication.

Published in Dawn, February 7th, 2024