Stake holders: Teachers’ union demands a voice in education policy

Teachers to stage demonstrations across the province today.

LAHORE:

Teachers across the province are once again preparing to stage protest demonstrations against the government policies. The Punjab Teachers’ Union (PTU) has called for protests in various districts with a rally scheduled to take place in Lahore on Thursday (today).

PTU General Secretary Rana Liaquat Ali said the union was left with no choice but to protest the victimisation of teachers. He told The Express Tribune that the union had been telling the government that it needed to formulate education policies according to the needs and constraints of the infrastructure.

School Education Department’s rationalisation of teachers’ strength, a policy under teachers are being posted to schools where there is a shortage from schools where there are more teachers than need, has also been described by the PTU as a ‘failure’.

Ali said the union had approached the SED several times to discuss its policies. He said that policies touted to increase teacher’s productivity and evaluate their performance were formulated without taking them on board. “We are most aware of the challenges on the ground…our input must be obtained.” The protests are scheduled to take place simultaneously across nine districts. According to the PTU, thousands of teachers are expected to participate in the rally, which will start from Nasser Bagh and end at the civil secretariat. The protestors also plan to stage a sit-in.

This will be the second rally organised by the union in five months. Protesting teachers had blocked The Mall for several hours at the end of November last year.

The PTU has been negotiating with and protesting against the SED since August 2013, when the government initiated an enrollment campaign across the Punjab. Another series of protests began earlier this year when the government ordered teachers to meet targets set for attendance and results in classrooms.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 3^rd, 2014.