Khyber - A group of contract teachers in the merged tribal district has demanded that the concerned authorities reinstate them permanently and pay their arrears for the last eight months’ salaries.
The provincial government terminated the services of the contract teachers after their contracts expired in 2024. Addressing a press conference at the Landi Kotal Press Club yesterday, Jameel Khan, tehsil head of the contract teachers union, along with President of Tanzeem-e-Asateza Pakistan (Khyber chapter), Sharifullah Afridi, and others, said the provincial government had hired them as teachers on a fixed pay of Rs 25,000 in 2022, renewing their contracts in 2023.
However, in 2024, nearly 3,000 teachers, both male and female, were terminated without receiving their eight months’ arrears, which they termed an anti-education policy of the government. They added that this decision had not only affected the teachers but also jeopardized the future of students in government-run schools.
The teachers pointed out that enrollments and students’ learning skills had significantly improved due to their efforts and urged the authorities to reinstate them and clear their arrears immediately.
They also conveyed their grievances to the parliamentarians but received no response. The teachers warned that if their demands were not met, they would launch a protest in front of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly and the Secretariat.
Meanwhile, the All Primary Teachers’ Association (APTA) Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has announced a protest sit-in on November 5 against the provincial government in Peshawar.
APTA provincial president Azizullah Khan stated that the previous provincial cabinet had approved the upgradation of all cadre teachers, including primary school teachers, on January 17, 2023. However, despite the decision being binding from July 1, 2023, the government has yet to implement it.
Khan added that APTA had held multiple meetings with political party leaders and concerned ministers to resolve the issue. The association is now demanding the issuance of a notification for the teachers’ upgradation in line with the cabinet’s decision.
Khan further claimed that about 10,000 teachers would participate in the sit-in, and around 26,000 primary schools across the province would be closed as part of the protest.