Teachers’ protest: Committee for teachers’ problems to meet today

Committee was formed on April 9 after teachers staged protest demonstrations in front of Civil Secretariat, PA.

LAHORE:

A committee formed by Education Minister Rana Mashhood Ahmed Khan to resolve the problems faced by protesting teachers will meet on Monday (today), The Express Tribune has learnt.

A notification announcing the formation of a four-member committee was issued by the School Education Department on April 9. The committee consists of MPA Tahia Noon, MPA Mehwish Sultana, SED Additional Secretary Ahmed Ali Kamboh and Punjab Teachers Union (PTU) president Syed Sajjad Akbar Kazmi.

The committee formed after the Punjab Teachers Union staged demonstrations in front of the Civil Secretariat and the Punjab Assembly.

The PTU has been demanding that the government reconsider its rationalisation OF faculty strength policy and its policy of assigning teachers non-academic duties.

Kazmi said the committee had not met since its formation.

He said his attempts at reaching out to other members had also failed.

“I have tried several times to reach out to other committee members but in vain. This is how seriously they take teachers’ problems,” he said.

Kazmi said the committee was meant to turn in its recommendations by on April 24.

“The date is less than a week away,” he said. “How can there have been productive deliberations if the committee has not met at all?”

Kazmi said even as the government was negotiating with the union, teachers were being assigned duties in the enrolment campaign requiring them to go door-to-door.

He said it was ironical that on one hand, teachers were assigned duties out of school and at the same time penalised for poor results of students.

Kamboh said that the committee was scheduled to meet on April 21 (today).

He refused to comment on the delay in holding the meeting.

Kamboh said as far as he knew, there were no deadlines on regarding the committee’s proposals.

He said it was the mandate of the convener to call meetings and he was in no position to comment when the committee would present its recommendations.

Referring to the enrolment drive, he said the campaign would not be possible without participation of teachers.

He said 4 million students would be enrolled by October.

Noon said the committee would meet on Monday (today). She said she hoped that the committee would resolve all issues once the meeting was held.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 21^st, 2014.