Ombudsman orders administrative action against teacher

On the orders of Punjab Ombudsman Abdur Rashid Khan special secretary schools, Education Department has initiated proceedings against a district education officer (DEO) and his deputy for flouting government policy by posting a teacher away from his school on temporary duty.
According to the details, complainant Malik Umer Hayat, Member School Council, Government Primary School, Dera Ameer Khan Wala, submitted a complaint in the Ombudsman Secretariat stating that there was only one Government Boys Primary School, Dera Ameer Khan Wala, in a radius of four kilometer, and only two teachers were posted in that school.
The complainant intimated that on March 14, 2005, one of the teachers, Hamid Ullah, managed his temporary duty at Government School Ghulam Muhammad Wala nearer his home, upon which notables of the area met the EDO (education), on March 21,2005, and requested for cancellation of temporary duty and return of Hamid Ullah to their school.
Consequently, the Deputy District Education Officer, Mankera, cancelled the temporary duty on March 3, and directed the teacher to rejoin his school of posting, but so far the concerned teacher had not attended the school in Dera Ameer Khan Wala.
The complainant requested Mohtasib Secretariat that the concerned teacher, Hamid Ullah, may be directed to rejoin his school or some other teacher may be posted in his place. The complainant also requested that the practice of political intervention and temporary duties in educational institutions should be stopped.
In its departmental response, EDO (education), Bhakkar, submitted that Hamid Ullah, ESE, was assigned temporary duty in Government Masjid Maktab School, Ghulam Muhammadwala, as the teacher of that school had proceeded on study leave and the school had closed. In order to run that school, Hamid Ullah was assigned temporary duty, which had since been cancelled on the demand of the notables of the area and the teacher had since rejoined his school.
In his rejoinder the complainant submitted although Hamid Ullah had rejoined the school on December 12, 2005, and the loss suffered by the children for the last nine months was irreparable.
In his decision, Punjab Ombudsman Abdur Rashid Khan observed that although the grievance of the complainant had been redressed with the rejoining of teacher at Dera Ameer Khanwala school, perusal of the original file of DEO indicates that the temporary duty of Hamid Ullah was assigned to favour him by placing him nearer to his home. The Mohtasib noted that the teacher did not rejoin his school of posting even after summer vacation and joined only in December last.
He held that assigning of temporary duty (on loan basis) was not only a clear violation of Recruitment Policy for the educators, but was also in contravention of Education Department's instructions, dated August 22, 1996, March 28, 1997 and July 16, 2003, banning deputing of teachers on loan basis or assigning any temporary duty to other schools from their actual places of posting.