June 20, 2008	Friday	Jamadi-us-Sani 15, 1429

HYDERABAD, June 19: The Sindh Professors and Lecturers Association on Thursday demanded raise to four per cent of GDP in educational budget, formulation of a scientific and secular education policy with consultation of academics and teachers, change in outdated syllabus and mother tongue as medium of instruction.

Unfolding SPLA’s 34-point charter of demands, the association’s secretary Prof Liaquat Aziz told journalists at Sachal Sarmast Arts and Commerce College that the ban imposed on teachers’ bodies by the former Chief Minister Dr Arbab Ghulam Rahim should be lifted and show-cause notices, suspension orders and orders about forced leave should be cancelled.

On the pattern of Punjab, the NWFP and Balochistan, 863 lecturers of Sindh should be regularised and their five month’s salaries should be released, he stressed.

He demanded that the posts of college teachers should be upgraded on the pattern of university teachers, 62 seats of teachers in grade-20, 482 in grade-19 and 458 in grade-18, which were vacant for quite sometime, should be filled through promotion, and minimum wages of cooperative lecturers should be raised to at least Rs10,000 per month.

Prof. Aziz said that as per decision of Sindh cabinet, the secretary of education, director general of colleges and regional director working on OPS should be immediately removed and college professors should be appointed to the posts on the basis of seniority and merit.

He called for shifting the offices of director general of Sindh colleges from Karachi to Hyderabad and raise in non-attractive allowance announced by the PPP government in 1994.

He said that 10-year ban on transfers of lecturers, who were selected by the Sindh Public Service Commission in 2002, should be lifted and on the pattern of university teachers, the college teachers should be given medical allowance of Rs2,000 per month.

Prof Aziz demanded that higher secondary scheme should be abolished and the status of schools should be raised to colleges, college teachers academy should be reactivated and professional colleges for girls awarding degrees in B.Com, B.C.S., B.B.A. should be opened in each district.

He demanded that the Rangers should be asked to vacate the hostels of Government Muslim Science College and Government College Kali Mori, and only professors having commerce degrees should be appointed as principals in commerce colleges as per recommendations of HEC.