06 October 2004	Wednesday	20 Shaban 1425

ISLAMABAD, Oct 5: Instead of announcing any package for the teachers, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz on Tuesday contended merely on an announcement that the government would review their salary structure and make efforts to give them a respectable place in the society.

Speaking at a function to mark the World Teachers Day here at the National Library Auditorium, the prime minister admitted that the teachers were facing great difficulties in performance of their duties and "they should be well-paid."

"I commit to you, I will do my best," Mr Aziz said at the end of his short speech, that made the teachers community throughout the country disappointed. The prime minister even ignored the demand, made by Education Minister Javed Ashraf Qazi while speaking before him, that at least the starting salaries of the primary teachers should be increased.

Some representatives of the teachers, said they were expecting that at least the prime minister would announce some steps for the improvement of their condition as the government had been spending millions of rupees on huge advertisements on newspapers and electronic media regarding celebration of the "Salam Teachers' Day" for the first time in the country.

They were of the view that the teachers' difficulties could not be resolved by making telephone calls to them and that too in the presence of TV cameras. "Had there any political gathering, the PM would have announced huge allocations for various schemes and even for personalities," said a teacher.

Meanwhile, paying rich tributes to the teachers, Mr Aziz asked them to impart quality education. "Besides giving knowledge, the teachers should demonstrate values before their students," he added.

The prime minister stressed the need for improving the education standard and said the skill gap was hunting the country. He appreciated the role of private institutes in the education sector and asked them to come forward to set up more educational institutions in the country.

"I salute millions of teachers across the country for preparing our next generations to meet the challenges confronting the country," he said. He said it was not mere school buildings and facilities but the quality of teachers mattered the most. "No system can improve unless the quality of the teachers is good," he added.

Earlier, the prime minister conferred medals and certificates to the teachers from all over the country for their outstanding performance. The awards were given to one teacher each from all the four provinces, Northern Areas, Islamabad and Tribal Areas in four categories of primary, secondary, higher secondary and university level.

Interestingly, eight teachers were given awards in each category, except in higher secondary school where two awards were given to the teachers, belonging to the Punjab.

Shaiqa Nasreen of Lahore and principal Cadet College Hassanabdal Syed Dilshad Hussain were the two recipients of awards from the Punjab in the higher secondary category.

Others who received medals in this category were Dr Ravi Shankar (Karachi, Sindh), Prof Rehana Matiullah (Peshawar, NWFP), Dr Ziaur Rehman (Quetta, Balochistan), Dr Tehsin Ghous (Kotli, AJK), Abdul Jabbar (Darra Adamkhel, Fata), Prof Chaudhry Mohammad Akbar Saeed (Gilgit, NAs) and Prof Farhat Mujtaba (FG College, F-7/4, Islamabad). Following teachers received medals in other categories:

UNIVERSITY: Zafar Iqbal Jadoon (Lahore, Punjab), Prof Dr Yar Mohammad (Jamshoro, Sindh), Prof Dr Mohammad Daud Awan (Mansehra, NWFP), Prof Aftab Farooqui (Khuzdar, Balochistan), Prof Dr Hasibur Rahman (Muzaffarabad, AJK) and Prof Dr Askari Masood (QAU, Islamabad).

SECONDARY: Abdul Rahim Durrani (Layyah, Punjab), Mehmood Mehr (Karachi, Sindh), Tabassum Naz (Peshawar, NWFP), Raz Mohammad (Quetta, Balochistan), Fayyaz Shah (AJK), Shehla Sultan (Fata), Haider Khan (Gilgit, NAs) and Mohammad Sadiq (FG Boys School, G-9/4, Islamabad).

PRIMARY: Taj Din (Lahore, Punjab), Abdul Razzaq (Shikarpur, Sindh), Rehmat Wazir Shah (Chitral, NWFP), Bismillah Khan (Qila Saifullah, Balochistan), Shahnaz Jafri (AJK), Hawas Khan Afridi (Khyber, Fata), Ghulam Abbas (Skardu, NAs) and Zahida Aslam (FG Girls School, F-6/2).

Earlier, Dr Nasim Ashraf, the chairman of National Commission for Human Development, also spoke on the occasion. Students of Islamabad educational institutions presented a song to pay tributes to the teachers.