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FAISALABAD, July 25: The Punjab Professors and Lecturers Association and other teacher organizations have announced that they will boycott election duties in protest against denationalization of educational institutions.
This was announced by central leaders of teacher associations while speaking at a protest demonstration held at the Municipal Degree College here on Thursday.
The protesting teachers termed the education policies of the government ill-conceived and against the interests of students and the teaching community.
They said baton-charge of protesting teachers had already exposed the true faces of the rulers who wanted to destroy all the state-run institutions in lust for power.
They urged President Musharraf to order a disciplinary action against the provincial education minister for creating a rift between the rulers and the teachers. The police officials involved in the baton-charge should also be booked under the law, they demanded.
They threatened that in case the government failed to take cognizance of the situation, a strong and serious mode of protest would be announced throughout the country.
The teachers carrying banners and placards inscribed with slogans in favour of their demands also marched on city roads.
MULTAN: A protest rally of teachers belonging to state-run educational institutions in Multan district vowed on Thursday not to allow the government to denationalize and privatize the education sector.
A meeting of the joint action committee of various organizations representing school and college teachers was held at the Government Comprehensive School which was presided over by Chaudhry Nazir Ahmed.
Representatives of several students and traders organizations were also present there and expressed their solidarity with the teaching community.
They announced that all religious, social and political organizations would support teachers in their struggle against the official move to what they said to make the education impossible for lower and lower middle classes.
Speaking on the occasion, leaders of the joint action committee pledged they would not hand over the charge of denationalized educational institutions to their private ‘buyers’. “The government will have to face strong public reaction in its hot pursuit of privatization policy.”
Teachers would boycott paper-marking of boards and universities’ examinations and the forthcoming election duties if the Punjab government did not withdraw its decision, they warned.
Later, hundreds of participants of the protest meeting staged a rally up to the Bosan Road and shouted slogans against the Punjab government for its anti-education policies.
SAHIWAL: All organizations of teachers on Thursday staged a rally against the denationalization of government educational institutions.
The processionists started the march from the Government College under the aegis of the Joint Action Committee of the Sahiwal district. After passing through the College Road, the demonstrators held the rally at Fawarra Chowk which was addressed by teacher leaders Faiz Ahmed Faiz, Haji Abdul Salam, Prof Zahoor Ahmed Qari Manzoor and others. The teachers were also carrying banners and placards inscribed with slogans in favour of their demands.
The speakers alleged the government was committing economic murder of the teachers by handing over the educational institutions to private owners.
They also condemned the baton-charge on peaceful protesting teachers. Later, they dispersed peacefully at Nangal Ambia High School.
GUJRANWALA: The Punjab Professors and Lecturers Association and the Punjab Teachers Union have said they will not accept denationalization of schools at any cost.
Speaking at a protest meeting organized by an education action committee here on Thursday, speakers threatened that they would observe a countrywide protest if the decision in this regard was not withdrawn.
