ISLAMABAD: A significant cut in funds of occupancy cost (rental ceiling) for educational institutions working under the Federal Directorate of Education (FDE) has created difficulty for teachers who are unable to pay rents from their own pockets in the prevailing inflation.

According to an official source, the payment of occupancy costs to teachers is a serious issue, as the allocation has decreased by over 50% in many cases.

Below is a list of the funding cuts received by various colleges in Islamabad:

• Islamabad Model College of Commerce H-8/4 received a 75.4% cut in funds, which decreased rental ceiling payment from Rs 10,993,000 to Rs 2,709,000. Thirty-two teachers paid rent out of their own pockets.
• Islamabad Model Postgraduate College H-8/2 received Rs 12,181,000 compared to last year’s Rs 20,518,000.
• Islamabad Model College for Girls (Postgraduate) F-7/4 faced a 54% cut. Funds decreased from Rs 19,167,000 to Rs 9,039,000.
• Islamabad Model College for Boys H-9 received Rs 16,719,000 compared to last year’s Rs 22,531,000.
• IMCG (PG) F-7/2 faced a 32% reduction in funds.
• IMCB Sihala received a meager amount of Rs 3,473,000. It cannot cover the backlog of rent.
• IMCG (PG) G-10/4 and Islamabad College for Girls F-6/2 faced a 20% cut.
• IMCB I-10/1 faced a 29.7% cut.
• IMCB F-10/3 received a 28.7% reduction in funds.

The above list is not exhaustive, as a large number of schools and colleges could not get desirable funds for their occupancy costs.

“Despite the constant pending rent, the allocation has decreased. A huge amount of pending rent has accumulated which has not been paid to the owners of the house by the government,” Professor Farhan Azam, Senior Vice President of the Federal Government Teachers Association (FGCTA) said.

“Rent is an expense that is paid to the owner on a fixed schedule,” he added. “If it is not paid well in time, the tenant will face eviction.”

The owners are constantly riding on the nerves of the teachers and repeatedly demanding the current and pending rent of their houses.

In many cases, teachers have borrowed money from banks to pay the rent, which is a liability to the government.

“For most teachers, rent is the biggest expenditure,” Anam Kaleem, Joint Secretary of FGCTA said. “Skyrocketing rent and non-payment of rent have pulled the rug out from under many teachers living in the capital city.”

Moreover, inflation has shot up in the country because of political and economic instability.

“Our teachers are facing pending rent as well as high inflation, which has serious implications for their well-being,” Kaleem said.

Dr Rahima Rehman, President of FGCTA, also commented on the issue.

“Rising rents, fuel prices, external value of rupee prices of food and other necessities are big drivers on inflation, which fall especially hard on low-income groups like teachers, posing a challenge for policymakers,” she said.

Soaring rent prices are compounding financial stress on low-income teachers, who depend upon the governmental rental ceiling. Rents are rising at rates far above the rise in the rental ceiling of teachers.

Dr Rehman urged the government to pay heed to this burning issue of the teachers by allocating a sufficient amount immediately to the educational institutions to clear their pending rent.

“The Federal Directorate of Education (FDE), being the custodian of its employees, should play its role in getting the funds,” she said.