Teachers’ association threatens to boycott classes

Association wants resolution of promotion, service structure issues.

GILGIT: The Gilgit-Baltistan Teachers Association (GBTA) on Tuesday threatened to boycott classes starting next month if their demands are not met regarding issues of promotion of teachers, service structure, time scale, seniority lists and so on, which are at a standstill since many years.

“We have got no option but to boycott classes as our demands stand unfulfilled for many years despite repeated requests to the higher authorities,” GBTA President Shahid Hussain told The Express Tribune.

More than 10,000 teachers from various government schools in the seven districts of the region will take part in the boycott, which could leave the education system completely paralysed.

“We have had rounds of meetings with the Secretary Education and the chief minister but have failed to settle on a resolution,” said Hussain. He added that being the president of the association he is under immense pressure from the teachers’ fraternity.

“There are several teachers who have been deprived of a promotion for the past 30 years,” he said, adding that this is an example of injustice that does not happen elsewhere in the country.

Hussain said that they will be holding a crucial meeting of district associations on February 25, but said if the government takes concrete steps by then, they will withdraw their strike call.

“The secretary education has sought time from us but if they cannot deliver any assurance by then, we will not be able to revisit our strike call,” he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 16^th, 2011.