PTU general secy in the dock for ‘undesirable activities’

The central president was forcibly retired earlier over similar charges.

LAHORE:

Just when the Punjab Teachers Union (PTU) was preparing to protest the compulsory retirement of its president ordered by the Education Executive District Officer (EDO) earlier this month, the services of the PTU general secretary were surrendered to the EDO office on Tuesday.

PTU General Secretary Rana Liaquat Ali Khan’s service at Government Islamia High School, Multan Road, where he taught, have been terminated and handed over to the EDO for posting elsewhere. The reason cited for this is his “undesirable activities”.

The PTU has strongly protested the move, claiming that their members were being demoralised and victimised through such tactics. This is the second time this month that the government has taken action against a PTU office-bearer. PTU claims that 15 of its members and office-bearers have suffered a similar fate over the past few months.

A letter by the headmaster of the Government Islamia High School, Multan Road, on Tuesday stated that Khan’s services had been surrendered to the EDO office. It cited Khan’s involvement in “undesirable activities” as the reason behind the decision. The EDO office would now transfer Khan to another school.

Khan has been in service for more than 20 years. This development comes shortly after a protest by PTU (last Thursday) against the compulsory retirement of its central president, Syed Sajjad Akbar Kazmi. In a notification dated June 6, Lahore Education EDO Pervaiz Akhtar wrote to Kazmi, informing him of his compulsory retirement. The EDO office said the decision had been taken on merit and in accordance with a charge sheet issued against Kazmi.

Speaking to The Express Tribune, Kazmi confirmed that Khan’s services had been surrendered to the EDO office. He said this was another chapter in victimisation tactics by the government against teachers and union officials. “Khan was informed of the decision in a letter without being issued a show-cause notice or a prior inquiry,” he said.

What’s undesirable?

Regarding Khan’s “undesirable activities”, Kazmi said he had been victimised for his association with the union. “Why not clearly spell out these undesirable activities?” Kazmi asked.

He appealed to the district coordination office on Tuesday to review the order of his compulsory retirement. The decision regarding the appeal was made during a PTU Punjab meeting on Monday evening. According to PTU, Khan could also challenge the decision but it was unlikely that he would.

Postponed

The decision regarding Khan came a day ahead of a protest scheduled for Wednesday (today) outside the Education Complex. However, in view of the current law and order situation in the city and action taken against PTU officials, the protest was called off.

Khan told The Express Tribune that the decision to call off the protest was taken during a PTU meeting. He said the union would hold further discussions to determine a future strategy. PTU officials said the protest would now be held on June 24 and will take place across the province in which all PTU officials had been asked to participate. “We will write a letter of protest to the chief minister and all union officials will sign it with their blood...if this is what it has come to, so be it.”

Provincial Education Minister Rana Mashhood Ahmad Khan had formed a four-member committee in April to address issues pertaining to teachers in the Punjab. Kazmi was also a member of the committee. The committee met on April 21 and had not held another meeting since.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 18^th, 2014.