Teachers decry budget, demand upgrades

PESHAWAR:

The primary school teachers of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa have expressed deep disappointment and frustration over the provincial government's failure to include their long-standing demand for up-gradation in the recent budget and for not aligning salary increases with those implemented at the federal level. Teachers have called these omissions unfair and disheartening.

According to Provincial President of the All Primary Teachers Association (APTA), Azizullah Khan, despite the preparation of legislation for the regularization of 15,000 teachers, the government has remained silent on the matter, with no progress being made. He added that in the merged tribal districts, education has become nominal, and no serious steps are being taken to address the issues faced by teachers there, creating a sense of severe anxiety among them.

Speaking about disparities in allowances, Khan criticized the K-P government for granting only a 15 per cent disparity reduction allowance based on basic pay scale salary, compared to the federal government's 30 per cent allowance based on current basic salaries. "It is unfortunate that two sets of laws now exist within one country. If we don't resort to protest in these circumstances, what other option do we have? he asked.