NTS teachers’ concerns not allayed by Sindh govt

Officials refuse to give written assurance that the teachers’ jobs would be regularised

KARACHI: Even after a meeting with the chief minister, negotiations between the Sindh government and protesting teachers remained inconclusive as the government did not give them a written assurance that their jobs would be regularised.

The teachers, all of whom have passed the National Testing Service (NTS) test, vowed to continue their hunger strike in front of the Karachi Press Club. During the meeting with the education department, Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah asked Chief Secretary Rizwan Memon about the regularisation of the NTS contract teachers. To this, the chief secretary said that they have completed their three-year contract and now want to be regularised. He read out para 10 of the terms and conditions of their appointments which stated, "In case of extension of contract, the appointee shall work in the specified school for the extended period. Selected candidate shall be evaluated through the Qualified Teacher Status (QTS). The government can extend the contract of those candidates who successfully qualified the QTS. It will be mandatory for all contract teachers to qualify QTS during their three-year contract period to become eligible for extension. A maximum three attempts are allowed to appear in the QTS."

The chief minister directed Education Minister Jam Mehtab Dahar and the Karachi commissioner to hold a meeting with the teachers and discuss all these contract clauses with them and the conditions for their regularisation and promotion.

He also directed the chief secretary to personally resolve the teachers’ time scale issue. After the CM House meeting, the commissioner called on the teachers and discussed the decisions made at the meeting with them but failed to give them written assurance.



"The commissioner and additional education secretary were reluctant to give a clear assurance that our issues would be resolved. They were confused and changed their [statements],” said Shafi Mohammad Sathiyo, president of the Primary Teachers’ Association. He added that they would not call off their hunger strike and would instead discuss their next course of action. "The additional education secretary said that they will check with other provinces’ policies before regulating contract teachers and promoting those who have completed 25 years of service," he said, adding that after today's joint action committee meeting of all teachers associations, they would again devise a plan to besiege CM House.

Around 15,649 NTS-qualified teachers were appointed on a contract basis three years ago in Sindh.  Similarly, 7,000 teachers were also appointed on contract after Sindh University conducted their exams. These teachers, after completing their three-year terms, are demanding their regularisation. Among other demands, the primary teachers association is asking for promotion to Grade-16 grade for their colleagues who have completed 25 years in the government service. The Sindh government had earlier promised to promote such teachers but is now not implementing its decision.

Earlier, chairing the meeting, the CM said that the teaching skills of teachers from primary to higher secondary level must be improved through professional training. There should a high standard teacher training academy where special training programmes are designed and conducted, he said.



The CM proposed to the chief secretary and education minister that the teachers working in the education department should appear in a third party testing system after every five years. In case of their failure, they should be separated from teaching process because this is the question of education of our future generations. "We are paying massive salaries to teachers so that our children, particularly of poor families, receive high-quality education but day in and day out the teachers are on the roads for acceptance of their demands," he deplored. He went on to say that there is a lack of efficiency in our system to address all these issues that results in government employees coming out onto the roads.

Education Minster Dahar told The Express Tribune that the government has decided to regularise the teachers after an assessment is conducted. “After the CM’s directives, we have also taken input from the law department and will bring a bill in the Sindh Assembly to regularise the teachers,” he said, adding that it could take up to three months. Departmental committees will be formed for assessment of these teachers. “We will not conduct a test,” he said, adding that teachers should show tolerance because the government has already extended their six-month tenure, assuring that they would be given permanent jobs.