KARACHI:
PTI prides itself in holding mass demonstrations and advocating for the rights of the people. Ironically, the PTI-led provincial government in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) terminated the president of the Young Teachers Association (YTA) on the pretext of provoking government teachers to protest. The teachers are exercising their democratic rights to secure their jobs and salaries. On Sunday, they staged a sit-in outside PTI Chairman Imran Khan’s residence in Bani Gala.
The provincial government announced plans of granting teachers permanent status from 1st July 2022. However, the protesters are demanding that 58,000 ad hoc teachers who were appointed in 2018 should be regularised from the date of appointment. Also, teachers have been promoted arbitrarily and there is no basis to determine seniority levels. Therefore, the teachers have demanded promotions based on seniority level and annual salary increments.
Teachers play a crucial role in the progress and development of any region. Thus, they should not be subjected to humiliation and harassment. Many of them have been serving for the last three years and it is a grave injustice that they still find their jobs in jeopardy and have not been given an appropriate position. The provincial government must respond to the grievances of teachers practically. To avoid future issues, they must work with the education department to form a strict criterion for the hiring and promotion of government teachers. Also, they must take this as an opportunity to dismiss incompetent teachers or those accused of engaging in malpractices.
Mohsin Khan
DI Khan
Published in The Express Tribune, June 21st, 2022.
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