LAHORE - Teachers Thursday took to the streets against the government for denying them just rights. The teachers staged a protest outside the Lahore High Court after the hearing of their case, followed by a sit-in in front of the Lahore Press Club.

The protesting teachers appealed to the chief justice of Pakistan to look into the matter.  Condemning rampant corruption on the part of officials, they made a request to CJP for ordering forming committees at provincial and federal levels for hearing of applications for performance evaluation. 

Earlier, the LHC on Thursday sought comments from the Punjab chief secretary and education officials on the petition questioning delay in performance evaluation reports.  Justice Ayesha A Malik took up the matter moved by Mohsin Raza Joyia, a lecturer from Pakpattan. The petitioner said that principals of public colleges get retired, without completing ACRs required for teachers’ promotion. 

He said many teachers like him had been deprived of their right to promotion due to non-completion of ACRs.  The petitioner said that promotion committee of his department held meetings last year and deferred promotions of many teachers. He alleged that his former Principal also refused him ACR and got retired from the office. He said he approached him after his retirement for signing of his ACR but failed to get his ACR as he could not give him bribe. 

He said he had been serving as lecturer with Government Faridia College, Pakpattan for years and his seniority number for promotion from BS-17 to Assistant Professor was 946/G  but his promotion was ignored. 

He made Punjab Chief Secretary, Secretary Higher Education Department, Director Public Instructions Colleges, Punjab, Sahiwal Director Colleges,  Pakpattan’s deputy director colleges,  Rana Tariq Aziz Nasir, former principal of Govt Faridia College, Pakpattan, Dr Farkhand Shakeel, Dr. Shamim Arif Qureshi and Sahiwal’s ex-director college Prof. Abdul Majeed as respondents.

FIDA HUSSNAIN