400 pensioners of Education Dept yet to get March pension

MULTAN: The troubles of the pensioners of South Punjab have worsened owing to inactive role of the South Punjab Finance Department.

More than 400 pensioners, mostly widows, of Education Department could not get their pension of the month of March. Reportedly, the pension issue worsened due to the retirement of Multan education department deputy director finance who was the lone signature authority assigned by the Punjab Finance Department for the release of pension to the teachers of ex-Municipal Corporation schools. He retired on March 13 but temporary powers could not be delegated to other officials. It has increased troubles of more than four hundred teachers who had served at Municipal Corporation schools and later the schools were merged with the district education department. Talking to The News, a retired MC widow teacher said she had to work hard alone as her husband passed away and her due pension was not released so far.

She said her husband died during duty but now she had been running from pillar to post for her pension. Many ex-MC schools pensioners complained about the lack of an online system for automatically transfer of their pension in their respective bank accounts. A widow of 70-year-old said she was forced to submit a pension claim form before 10th of every month for release of the pension. She said she had no male member in the family and her house was 15 kilometers away from the office of the education department and it had become very difficult for her to reach the office in pandemic atmosphere. The AGP had issued a directive while Punjab Finance Department had also issued a notification, but the ex-MC schools teachers were kept deprived from the facility of online pension transfer, she said.

The MC school pensioners urged the government to issue online transfer of their pensions instead of forcing them to submit pension claim form every month. The Education Department Pension dispatch officials said the situation developed due to lack of transfer of financial powers to South Punjab Administrative Secretariat. The education department has no powers to assign someone and delegate him financial powers. The officials said only the Punjab Finance Department is the authority to delegate financial powers to someone in the absence of officials concerned.

Twenty-eight days have lapsed since the retirement of ex-deputy director finance but powers are not delegated to any official for quick release of pensions. The National Labor Alliance has strongly criticised the poor performance of the Punjab government in failing to provide online pension facilities to pensioners. NLA chairman Ghazi Ahmed said the Federal Finance Ministry had ordered in 2016 launching of Direct Credit Scheme to retired employees to get regular pension through online but school teachers and pensioners have been kept deprived from the facility. He said this inability has suffered the pensioners into very critical situations. Majority of widow school teachers are unable to submit pension claim forms every month. He demanded the government provide an online pension facility to education department pensioners to reduce their woes.

When contacted, Multan Deputy Commissioner (DC) Ali Shahzad said CEO Education Shamsher Ahmed Khan brought the matter into his notice and he had taken up the matter with the Punjab Finance Department for an early solution. The DC assured the matter would be solved in a day or two. He assured working on an online pension system to avoid pensioners’ woes. CEO Education Shamsher Ahmed Khan said the department realises the woes of pensioners but the delay has happened technically and soon pension would be released with arrears.