Threat to cut teachers’ pay illegal, says Sori

By ERIC PIET
TEACHERS who fail to meet the March 31 deadline for their national identification registration will not be struck off the payroll, an official says.
Teaching Service Commission chairman Baran Sori said an earlier directive warning teachers to register by the end of the month
or be struck off the payroll was illegal and not issued by the commission.
Sori was commenting on the concerns raised by some teachers in rural areas who were yet to complete the NID registration process and worried that their pay would be cut.
He said the commission was the only authority with the power under the Education Act 1983 to implement such a measure.
“No other authority apart from the TSC should issue decisions on teachers’ suspension of pay,” he said.
“The power only belongs to the commission. Section 85 of the Act stipulates that the limitation of powers in relation to teachers’ appointment, promotion, transfer, discipline or conditions of service of teachers generally or of individuals in the teaching service is for the commission to apply.”
Sori however said since it was a Government-sanctioned exercise, teachers should all complete their NID registrations by the end of the year because their resumption next year would be determined by their registration.
“If any teacher is put off the pay by the system, it is because they didn’t fill in their Resumptions of Duty Summary Sheets. They must not think that it is related to the national identification registration,” he said.