Pakistan orders action against ghost employees — Dawn
In Pakistan, in the Lower Dir and Bajaur districts, officials have ordered strict action against so-called ghost employees and staff who have been absent from work for long periods in the education and healthcare sectors. Malakand Division Commissioner Iqbal Hussain Bacha also instructed school management in Lower Dir to verify staff attendance and cancel unauthorized transfers, Dawn reports.
Inspections in Lower Dir schools
District education official Mushtaq Ahmad sent a directive to male and female school principals, deputy district education officers, and assistant education officers in sub-districts. The document provides for the immediate cancellation of employee postings and transfers on special grounds. Managers who fail to comply with the order were warned of possible disciplinary action.
The directives were issued after a meeting chaired by the division commissioner and attended by district and additional district officials, representatives of the education and healthcare sectors, as well as education monitoring bodies. According to the publication's sources, Bacha said that education and healthcare account for about 70% of the provincial government's budget, so public spending must provide better services.
The commissioner announced a zero-tolerance policy toward teacher absenteeism and ghost employees. School principals were made personally responsible for daily attendance monitoring. If a principal does not respond to a teacher's absence, the relevant assistant education officer in the sub-district must initiate disciplinary proceedings against the school head.
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Employee lists in Bajaur
Assistant education officers were also instructed to visit schools regularly rather than remain in their offices. Principals must submit certificates confirming the absence of ghost employees at schools, while deputy district education officers will send daily attendance and monitoring reports.
In Bajaur, according to Dawn sources, the decision on strict measures was made following instructions from Deputy Commissioner Adnan Farid Afridi. He responded to reports of employees from two departments who have not performed their duties for long periods or may be ghost employees, and ordered department heads to take legal action.
According to sources, both departments began compiling lists of such employees and those who have been absent from duty for long periods. Sources also claim that lower-grade employees and teachers predominate among them, and that a significant share come from influential families. The exact number of such employees is currently unknown.
