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FAISALABAD, Oct 24: The Punjab Professors and Lecturers Association and the Joint Action Committee of students and doctors have rejected the claim of the Punjab governor and other government officials about the role of board of governors.
In separate statements here on Thursday, PPLA office bearers and representatives of doctors and students said the BoGs were being given the control of administrative, financial and academic affairs by usurping the powers of the teaching community.
They claimed that a disinformation campaign had been launched by board members and DCOs just to befool teachers, students and their parents by concealing ground realities. “Efforts are also being made by the BoGs to grab powers of academic councils to enforce their own ‘rules of game’,” they claimed.
Contrary to the governor’s claim, they said, the administration was directly responsible for increase in fees, elimination of vacancies for teachers in colleges, interference in educational institutions and other anti-education policies which were being adopted by the BoGs.
They said the service rules proposed by the BoGs were also against the fundamental rights of an ordinary citizen and a cause of creating tension and resentment among the teaching community. “Giving rights of sale and purchase of properties and other assets of educational institutions to the BoGs amounts to doling out the national assets to businessmen which will not be tolerated at any cost,” they said.
They termed this step of the government a clear violation of rules and against its claim in which it was being announced that none of the school or college was being denationalized.
The official claim about not increasing the tuition fee was also baseless as almost all the BoGs had already increased tuition and other fees, they said.
They vowed to continue their protest movement till the abolition of the board of governors.
PROTEST: Scores of coachmen and owners of donkey-carts and hand-driven carts blocked traffic on the Samundri-Faisalabad Road on Thursday in protest against overcharging of vehicle tax by the contractor of the tehsil municipal administration.
The protesters chanted slogans against TMA officials and demanded action against the contractor for receiving Rs200 per cart instead of Rs30. They blamed the TMA officials and elected representatives for patronizing the contractor.
They marched on different roads of Samundri tehsil and also staged a sit-in in front of the office of MNA-elect Safdar Shakir.
The protesting coachmen dispersed peacefully after an assurance by TMA highups that an action would be taken against the contractor.
