LAKKI MARWAT: The district steering committee has decided to initiate disciplinary action against headmasters closing schools before the official timing.

The committee met here on Tuesday with deputy commissioner Mohammad Bakhtiar in the chair and also discussed the performance of field staff of the education department.

Independent Monitoring Unit`s district official Amjad Meraj briefed the meeting about absenteeism of teaching and non-teaching staff, nonfunctional and closed schools and parent teacher councils` record.

DEO Ms Sabira Parveen and other education department officials also attended the meeting besides district finance officer Khalid Mehmood. Sources said that the committee took serious notice of the absence of principal of a girls` higher secondary school and closure of girls` schools in several areas before official timing.

The male and female education department authorities told the meeting that besides initiating action against the absent employees they had also taken steps to ensure observance of official timings by headsof schools.

The deputy commissioner said that the administration would reward teachers and education officials with commendation certificates for showing outstanding performance. He asked the DEO (female) to make the nonfunctional schools functional or merge them into nearest educational institutions.

He said that the heads of schools should engage members of the parent teacher councils to ensure better attendance ofstudents.

Meanwhile, local chapter of the All Government Retired Employees Council held a demonstration in front of the press on Tuesday to press the government for acceptance of their demands,includingincrease in group insurance.

Speaking on the occasion, the council`s chairman Sifatullah Khan demanded of the government to double the amount of group insurance and ensure its payment to the retired employees from the date of the first appointment. Another office-bearer Nazir Khan asked the government to merge the 2010 allowance in monthly pension and also pay them the benevolent fundgrant.-Correspondent