School teachers in low- and middle-income private schools face exploitation and harassment

In an exclusive story filed for “The News” the investigative journalist, M. Waqaar Bhatti has unearthed the financial and sexual exploitation by the owners of the schools. The story carries the chilling account of many teachers who have been facing such exploitations for months.

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‘Neglected voices’ of thousands of private school teachers in Pakistan, experiencing financial and sexual exploitation at the hands of owners on regular basis@haider_mehtab @AnsarAAbbasi @ShamsAmjadJI @zalmayzia @naimhttps://t.co/diFsKFg9MB

— M. Waqar Bhatti (@MWaqar_Bhatti) September 17, 2023

Shaista (name changed), a holder of a master’s degree, has worked as an educator in four different private schools within the past two years. Her role as a science teacher involved receiving a meager salary and subjected her to various forms of harassment.

“After my husband passed away due to cancer a couple of years ago, I had to secure a teaching position to provide for my three daughters. During these past two years, I’ve taught at four different schools. I found it extremely difficult to endure the sexual harassment and financial exploitation perpetrated by school proprietors and administrators,” states the 32-year-old widow residing in Karachi’s Shah Faisal Colony.

نجی اسکولوں میں پڑھاتے اساتذہ صرف کم تنخواہ کے مسئلہ کا شکار ہی نہیں بلکہ بدترین جنسی استحصال کے نشانہ پر بھی ہیں۔
شوہر کے انتقال کے بعد ٹیچنگ کرنے والی ایک خاتون کی پریشان کن کہانی سچویشن کی سنگینی واضح کر رہی ہے۔
وقار بھٹی @MWaqar_Bhatti کی رپورٹ
https://t.co/Z90V3WQiaJ

— Shahid Abbasi (@ShahidabbasiPk) September 17, 2023

A telephone survey and in-depth interviews conducted by The News on Sunday unveiled a disturbing trend: most private schools in lower and middle-income areas were offering their teachers salaries ranging from Rs 6,000 to Rs 12,000. In extreme cases, teachers were compensated as little as Rs 3,000 for a full day of teaching.

The established monthly minimum wage for unskilled laborers in Pakistan stands at Rs 32,000. Nonetheless, a significant number of highly educated teachers employed by private schools, holding university degrees, receive considerably lower compensation.

A substantial portion of private school teachers do not receive formal appointment letters upon completing their probationary periods. In the majority of instances, they are remunerated in cash.