Teachers end strike as govt gives in to their demands

The Sindh school education department has held successful talks with the protesting teachers, clearing up uncertainty surrounding the commencement of secondary school certificate (matriculation) annual examinations 2019 scheduled to begin on April 1.The development came on Friday afternoon when Sindh Education Minister Syed Sardar Ali Shah met representatives of the Government Secondary Teachers Association (GSTA) outside the Karachi Press Club, where teachers from various districts of the province had gathered to hold protests and press the government to accept their demands. The minister held a three-hour long meeting with the GSTA representatives and gave in to many of their demands.According to GSTA Central President Muhammad Ashraf Khaskheli, the Sindh government principally agreed to the teachers’ demands, after which a notification was issued regarding the time scale of teachers while a committee comprising government officials and teachers’ representatives was constituted to work on the rest of their demands.On Thursday, the protesting teachers had tried to enter the red zone and stage a sit-in outside the Chief Minister House, after which the police baton-charged them. Many teachers received minor injuries in the clash while some of the teachers were also arrested by the police.The police attack on the teachers was widely condemned by teachers’ organisations and political parties, which censured the Sindh government and the police for treating the teachers like criminals.Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah expressed his displeasure at the incident and called for respecting the teachers. Likewise, officials and the minister of the education department also tried to defuse the situation and succeeded in appeasing the teachers after assuring them that their issues would be resolved on an urgent basis.According to the education department, Muhammad Ashraf Khaskheli headed the GSTA delegation which held talks with Sardar and Sindh School Education Secretary Qazi Shahid Pervez.The GSTA representatives presented around nine demands, one of which was the withdrawal of the new teaching cadre of 2014. The school education department assured the delegation that a committee of officers headed by the secretary school education would recommend amendments to the recruitment rules as desired by the teachers.To the demand of allowing time-scale BPS-20 to the high school teachers (HST) and equivalent and BPS-17 to the junior school teachers (JST), the education minister said the CM had already taken the decision to allow BPS-20 to HSTs and the finance department would soon issue a notification in this regard. However a summary for allowing BSP-17 to JSTs would be sent to the CM for approval.The GSTA also demanded that the contractual teachers, who had passed tests conducted by the University of Sindh, Institute of Business Administration, National Testing Services, and Iqra University, be regularised and their services be accounted from the initial date of appointments. Responding to this, the minister and the secretary said a committee would propose suitable amendments to the cabinet in this regard so that they are approved for the legislation.The teachers’ association also requested immediate departmental promotions from HST to headmaster level and from JST to HST. To make progress on this, the education officials agreed to convene a meeting of the departmental promotion committee within 10 days.The GSTA also demanded the release of salaries of 2012 other cadre of teaching staff in the remaining districts of Sindh; however, the education officers were of the view that the department needed to carry out scrutiny of all the remaining cases as some appointment were supposed to be fake.The teachers’ representatives also demanded group insurance on the pattern of Balochistan government in light of a Supreme Court verdict. The education minister assured the teachers that the matter was in active consideration of the finance department for all the government employees of Sindh.The GSTA also called for utility allowance for teachers on the pattern of the Governor House, Sindh Secretariat, Sindh Assembly and Sindh High Court, to which the officials said the matter would be discussed in a meeting to be convened later. Regarding the demand for fixing the ratio of promotions of HSTs to subject specialist BPS, the GSTA was told that the matter would be discussed after the findings of a committee on recruitment rules.As the government gave such assurances, the GSTA agreed to call off their strike and committed to perform their duties for the matriculation examinations in the province starting on April 1. Earlier, private schools’ associations and All Pakistan Cleric Association had offered their services to the education department for perfuming duties during the examinations if the education department and the GSTA failed to reach any agreement.CM orders inquiryExpressing his displeasure at the thrashing of protesting schoolteachers by the police, the CM has ordered an inquiry into the Thursday’s incident. According to a statement issued by the CM House on Friday, the CM directed the Sindh home secretary to conduct a thorough inquiry into the matter.The statement also quoted the CM as saying that he had directed the commissioner Karachi to negotiate with the teachers and resolve their issues. “I had strictly warned him [commissioner] against the use of coercive measures but even then action was taken,” Shah remarked, adding that subjecting the schoolteachers to a baton charge and tear gas was totally unacceptable and uncalled for.The CM called for respecting teachers as they are responsible for shaping the future of the country’s children. “They [teachers] must be treated humbly and with respect,” he asserted and added that he would not tolerate such kind of action.

from The News International - Karachi https://ift.tt/2uBpF7O