CHINIOT – Scores of teachers under the banner of the Punjab Teachers Union took out a rally and staged a sit-in in front of the EDO-Education office to press the department accept their long-standing demands here on Saturday.
A large number of teachers, led by Punjab Teachers Union District President Safdar Siraj Kalroo expressed their anger against the government for its “anti-teacher policies”.
They criticised the government for its failure to fully implement the teachers’ package and demanded implementation of the in-service promotion quota under the four-tier formula.
The PTU District President said that the Punjab School Education Department was not sincere in accepting their `genuine` demands and they were compelled to come out on roads.
He demanded the government to implementation the promotion cases for 2009 package award 2010 promotion package, in-service promotions and provision of each in incentive to teachers for 2008. Mr Kalroo said that a number of contract teachers had not been regularised for the last two years despite directions by the Punjab government in October 2009. He said a number of schools organised the summer camp during vacation, but they were not paid conveyance allowance.
On the occasion, PTU leaders Waris Sipra, Ahmad Hayat and Ali Muhammad Nasir warned that if their demands were not meet within a week, they would launch an agitation campaign.
They said the teachers could also boycott classes and the Punjab Examination Commission, Exams of Grade 5 to 8 to be conducted from Feb 1, 2012.
EDO-Education Mehr Ashraf Ali, however, has a different story to tell and said that no collective issue of teachers was pending at the provincial or district level.
He said that the department was reviewing most of the demands of the PTU. He said that during the promotion of package 2009, a number of promotion cases were deferred due to the non-completion and submission of the service record of teachers concerned. Regarding award of the pay package of 2010, he said that instructions were being awaited from the Punjab government and package had not been initiated across Punjab.
Mr Ali said the regularization cases of those teachers were pending who did not submit their record on time. He said that education officials were focusing on ending absenteeism of teachers in the district.
“The government is still looking for such a gesture from teachers and their leaders, who are so far busy in protests alone,” he added.