Teachers to shut down education across K-P

Vow to close thousands of schools if demands not met

PESHAWAR:

The All-Primary Teachers Association (APTA) has officially announced that starting from November 5, they will close down 26,000 boys and girls' schools across Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa until their demands are met.

They will also hold a sit-in protest at Jinnah Park. A meeting of APTA's provincial officials was held at the provincial secretariat, chaired by its president Azizullah Khan.

Azizullah Khan stated that this sit-in will mark a historic event, as it is being held to demand the notification of upgradation, regularisation of 13,500 teachers, the restoration of forced promotions, and the revival of the "Fargo Option."

The protest is also aimed at stopping the privatisation of primary schools, ensuring class-wise teacher appointments in every primary school, and creating senior primary school teacher posts with position codes in merged districts. Additionally, they demand that teachers regularised under the 2022 Act be included in the General Provident (GP) Fund.

Primary schoolteachers will come out in full force to claim their rights and vow to hold a powerful sit-in in Peshawar. Female teachers will also participate actively in this protest.

The sit-in will begin at Jinnah Park, Peshawar, on November 5 at exactly 1pm, and will continue indefinitely, regardless of the outcome. Starting from November 5, 2024, 26,000 primary schools will be completely closed.

However, APTA remains open to positive negotiations at any time, as they are not keen on protesting but have always believed in resolving matters through dialogue.

Earlier this month, Schoolteachers from across Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa held protests to push for the demands listed above, threatening to bring the education system of the province to its knees by closing thousands of schools.

The demands included the promotion of senior teachers and the abolition of the Contributory Pension Fund.