MANSEHRA, Aug 7: The chairman of the education sub-committee of the Mansehra district council, Aftab Khan, has said that the district government would not surrender to what he called the blackmailing tactics of the black sheep among the clerical staff of the education department.

The clerical staff of the department would be purged of the financially and morally corrupt elements, he said, while speaking at a press conference here on Wednesday.

The clerks of the education department, Mr Khan said, had been retaining their seats at the same station for 20 years before their transfer to other stations recently in the best interest of the department and the teachers’ community.

He claimed that after the transfers of the clerks to other areas, the teachers, especially the women teachers, had heaved a sigh of relief and that things had started moving in the right direction.

Mr Khan said that for providing a better working environment to the teachers, the district government would take drastic steps and that cases of a number of clerks against whom proofs of corruption had been obtained would soon be recommended to the anti-corruption establishment (ACE) for registration of FIRs.

He stated that during the last six months, he had visited all the schools in the district and after conducting a thorough probe, the teachers, mostly the women teachers, had been found suffering from the misdeeds of the clerical staff.

The chairman of the education sub-committee said a number of clerks had been found involved in immoral activities, including blackmailing the female teachers.

He added that evidence had been collected against a number of clerks of the department regarding their involvement in gross irregularities, misuse of power, embezzlement of funds and moral turpitude.