LANDI KOTAL, Oct 28: The education department of Khyber Agency has terminated the services of 57 teachers over absence from duty at different times.

Agency Education Officer Attiqur Rehman told Dawn on Monday that action had been taken against habitual absentee teachers under Section 9 of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Government Servants (Efficiency and Discipline) Rules, 2011.

He said action against such black sheep would continue until such elements were purged from the department.

Mr Rehman said there were teachers, who were abroad but regularly drew their salaries every month.

`The assistant agency education officers in collaboration with the local political administration will continue with conducting surprise visits to government schools to ensure presence of teachers and serve notices on absentees,` hesaid.

The AEO said his department would make no compromise on absenteeism in Khyber Agency schools.

Recently, the department denied more than 100 local schoolteachers the salary of the days during which they remained absent from duty.

Meanwhile, Khadam-i-Asateza Union swept All Khyber Agency Teachers Association elections on Monday.

Elections were held in Landi Kotal and Jamrud simultaneously and around 1,800 male and female teachers participated in them.

According to the election results, Naseer Shah Afridi was elected the association`s president, Attiqur Rehman general secretary, Khursheed Khan senior vice president, Marwat Khan deputy general secretary, Sher Rehman vice president, Mohammad Siddique joint secretary and Hanif Khan finance secretary.

They all belonged to Khadam-i-Asateza Union.