Protesting policies: Govt to start enrolment campaign, teachers gear up to protest

The PTU’s protest will be held throughout the province on April 3.

LAHORE: The provincial government has announced an enrolment campaign from April 1 even as public school teachers across the province prepare to stage a protest demonstration on April 3.

The Punjab Teachers’ Union has announced that teachers from the Lahore division will stage a protest outside the Civil Secretariat on April 3 to register a protest against policies including non-academic duties, revised attendance goals and fining teachers under the Punjab Employees Efficiency, Discipline and Accountability Act 2006.

PTU officials have said that 4,000 teachers across the province have been punished under the PEEDA since July. PTU General Secretary Rana Liaquat Ali says the government is taking action against teachers who fail to comply with their ‘unreasonable demands’ including non-academic duties, increased attendance targets and low results. He said the penalties under PEEDA included suspension from service, salary deduction, fines – ranging from Rs1,000 to Rs5,000 and stoppage of annual increments.

Meanwhile the government has announced to start another school enrolment drive across the province from April 1. Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif’s directions in this regard were handed to the School Education Department on March 20.

Ali says the enrolment campaign has been timed to coincide with the regular admissions cycle which begins every year on April 1.

Ali says it was not part of the teachers’ duties. “It is because of these tasks that teachers end up spending less time in classes, it leads to poor results and eventually government action against teachers.”

Published in The Express Tribune, March 24^th, 2014.