Finding middle ground: Teachers call off boycott of PEC exams

Education authorities assure that their legitimate demands would be looked into

LAHORE: Protesting teachers, who had earlier announced a boycott of upcoming examinations, called off their protest on Wednesday.

The decision came just a day before the start of the Punjab Examination Commission (PEC) exams for Class V and VIII. The papers were scheduled to start on Thursday (today) at public schools across the province.

The call came after a meeting between a delegation of the United Teachers’ Council (UTC) and Punjab School Education Department (SED) Secretary Abdul Jabbar Shaheen. Punjab Textbook Board Managing Director Ali Ahmed Kamboh, SED Additional Secretary Rana Akhtar Ali and other officials of SED were part of the negotiations.

In its statement, the UTC said government officials had ensured them that all inquiries against school heads would be immediately halted. Also, the decision to punish teachers under the Punjab Employees Efficiency, Discipline and Accountability Act (PEEDA) 2006 would be reviewed.

Furthermore, the UTC said it was given assurances that all pending promotions of teachers and their regularisation on temporary jobs would be taken into consideration based on the rules and regulations of district education authorities.

Speaking to The Express Tribune, SED Secretary Shaheen said he held negotiations with a group of schoolteachers who had announced a boycott of the PEC exams.

He said the department had given assurances that all their legitimate demands would be met. “The teachers’ union was satisfied and we had a positive meeting. They assured me that teachers will take part in the PEC exams and have ended the boycott,” he added.

On January 26, the UTC, led by a faction of the Punjab Teachers’ Union (PTU), protested against the provincial government outside the Punjab Civil Secretariat against certain education-related policies.

The PTU faction protest demanding an end to disciplinary action by the SED against school heads. They also wanted the up-gradation of all teachers and an end to the reported privatisation of public schools.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 2^nd, 2017.