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Teachers want salary withdrawal process simplified

Teachers want salary withdrawal process simplified

author avatar
9 Aug 2022 - 10:30
Teachers want salary withdrawal process simplified
author avatar
9 Aug 2022 - 10:30

CHARIKAR (Pajhwok): Teachers in central Parwan province complain the withdrawal of salaries from Azizi Bank is a hard and time-consuming exercise.

Local officials acknowledge the problem being faced by teachers, saying efforts are ongoing to facilitate the withdrawal method. Teachers in far-flung areas will be paid their salaries by a designated official, they say.

Ajab Gul Waseem, a teacher at the Abdul Fatah Shaheed High School in the Qamchaq valley of Siagard district, grumbled about the process of getting his salary from the bank.

He said: “We, a few teachers, went to Charikar to withdraw our salaries from Azizi Bank. We waited from dawn to dusk but were unable to get our salaries. We had no place to stay in Charikar and returned home. Every teacher spent up to 1,200 afs on the trip”

The day teachers go to the bank for collecting their salaries, students are deprived of learning, according to Waseem, who urged facilitation of the payment procedure.

Mir Khalil, another teacher at the Abdullah Ameeri High School in Charikar, said he got 9,900 afs in monthly salary, which was not provided in time by Azizi Bank.

He said teachers from Charikar, the provincial capital, were unable to get their salaries in a week, because preference was given to teachers from remote areas.

Khalil alleged Charikar-based teachers were not paid their salaries as long as their colleagues from district schools did not receive their pay.

He said the bank deducted 185 afs from each teacher’s salary for in the name of service charges. The process was complex and troublesome, he added, recalling the past method of payment was not only easier, but also involved a service charge of only 40 afs.

Ali Ahmad, a teacher at the Sadiqi High School in Charikar, said: “We go to the bank to collect our salaries in working hours. We are unable to properly discharge our duty because the process to withdraw salaries is time-consuming and difficult.”

He explained teachers from all districts came to Charikar to get their salaries, because Aziz Bank had no branch in any district.

Information from the Education Department shows over 7,000 teachers are currently working at public schools in Parwan.

Mohammad Asif, a senior provincial education official, acknowledged the problem being faced by teachers and said: “The duty of paying teachers’ salaries has been entrusted to Azizi Bank, but it does not have the capacity to discharge it duty.”

He agreed the bank had made the process of salary payment complex and time-consuming and charged every teacher 185 afs in  service charges.

The official claimed: “After being transferred by Da Afghanistan Bank, the salaries remain in Azizi Bank for some time. We don’t know the reason doe it.

“Azizi Bank being a commercial entity may get some advantage from keeping the amount. The contract with Aziz Bank is not in the interest of teachers.”

He believed it would be better If salaries were transferred from DAB to a designated person and then sent to the education departments at the district level for distribution to teachers.

Education Director Mohammad Hassan also confirmed the problem and said a meeting of relevant officials, including a representative from Azizi Bank, had been called to address teachers’ complaints.

The bank promised to address the issue and ensure the payment of teachers’ salaries in a fair and transparent manner.

nh/mud

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