February 17, 2007	Saturday	Muharram 28, 1428

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ISLAMABAD, Feb 16: The three-week stand-off between the Overseas Pakistanis Foundation (OPF) and its teachers over the issue of fresh appointments ended on Friday after an agreement was reached between the two sides, it has been learnt.

The issue was resolved in a meeting held between the foundation’s highups and the teachers’ representatives. It was decided that the OPF Girls College, F-8/2, that remained closed on Friday, would open again on February 19.

The OPF assured the teachers that a fresh recruitment process would be started and a new advertisement placed in national dailies. It claimed that the process would be systematic, transparent and according to rules. In this regard, the foundation has set March 31 as the new date for receipt of applications.

The controversy erupted when the foundation advertised vacancies for teachers in the OPF Girls College, F-8/2, as well as its other institutions. The advertisement came as a blow to the OPF teachers as they were asked to reapply along with fresh candidates for the post they were serving on.

These teachers refused to reappear as fresh candidates, and staged several demonstrations, even boycotting classes. Throughout last week, classes remained suspended, prompting parents to launch their own protest against the disruption in their children’s studies.

A teacher, who did not want to be named, told Dawn that according to the new understanding, over 160 teachers of the college will “have a handicap of 90 per cent marks in the appointment process while the remaining marks would be given on the basis of their interview”. She said the foundation assured the teachers that there would be no deduction in their salaries under the fresh contract the period of which had been enhanced from three months to one year.