HYDERABAD: The Government Secondary Teachers Association (GSTA) on Wednesday organised protest demonstrations in several cities and towns of Sindh against the education department and its secretary for introducing ‘education management cadre’.

GSTA district chief Zameer Khan told the media that his association strongly opposed the new management cadre as teachers had serious apprehensions about the new service structure, which blocked their due promotion.

They said that 50 percent posts form District Education Officer (DEO) to directors were allocated for district management group (DMG) in the new system and it was injustice.

They said that taluka officers carrying grade 17 from DMG were inducted into education department.

They said that they would not accept any officer from DMG at any cost.

In Hyderabad district, scores of schoolteachers took part in demonstrations held in all four talukas of the district.

GSTA Hyderabad taluka president Mehmood Chohan led the main demonstration outside the local press club at Naseem Nagar Chowk while the association’s other taluka chiefs, Masood Jatoi, Mohammad Younus and Shah Bukhsh Leghari led the demonstrations held in their respective areas.

Mr Chohan explained that the new structure allowed 20 per cent promotions of HSTs to while 80 per cent were based on seniority.

Similarly, he added, 1,400 posts of supervisors were eliminated.

The protesting teachers also condemned linking their promotion with the four-year BEd (Honours) degree disqualifying holders of a two-year degree for a promotion.

They said that these conditions were also unfair in the cases of those who had been waiting for their due promotion for years and were about to retire.

They levelled serious corruption allegations against education secretary Dr Fazlullah Pechuho and demanded his removal.

They said they had planned a sit-in at Gari Khuda Bukhsh Bhutto on Nov 17 to press the government withdraw the new service structure.

SUKKUR: Several hundred schoolteachers took part in a number of protest rallies and demonstrations held on Wednesday in Sukkur, Ghotki and Jacobabad districts against the new management cadre.

A rally was taken out from Al-Falah High School in Sukkur city.

Shahzad Abbasi, Ghazala Iqbal, Shakeel Jono, Imdad Shah and others led the rally, which passed through various roads and ended at the local press club, where the leaders spoke to the participants.

Another big rally was taken out in Jacobabad, who protesting teachers carrying banners and placards marched through various roads and streets raising slogans against the education secretary.

A similar rally taken out in Mirpur Mathelo town of Ghotki district was led by Saeed Ahmed Naich, Abdul Jabbar Laghari and Mushtaq Sial.

A rally was taken out from Government Boys High School, Mirpurkhas, and ended outside the local press club.

The leaders declared that teachers would never accept the unfair service structure. The protesters raised slogans against the provincial government, education secretary and the new management cadre.

Later, they held a sit-in on DC Office Road disrupting flow of traffic for some time. Jacobabad GSTA leaders Moham­med Alam Khoso, Amanullah Leghari, Sanaullah Osto, Abdul Nabi Soomro, Zahoor Ahmed Wagan and others said that by introducing the new management cadre, the education secretary had shown his enmity with teachers.

They said all measures taken by him as the secretary appeared to be anti-teachers.

They vowed to foil all his ‘conspiracies’ against the community.

They said they would continue the protest until the relevant notification was withdrawn.

The participants marched on various roads and held a sit-in at Bhitai Chowk for a couple of hours.

MIRPURKHAS: Several hundred schoolteachers took to the streets of Mirpurkhas city and other towns of the district to register their protest over introduction of the new management cadre in the education department.

Leading the rally, Gul Hassan Lashari and Khameso Sammoon announced that the teachers community was disapprove of the new management cadre and demanded its immediate withdrawal.

They said introduction of such an structure had already destroyed some departments and caused unrest among their employees.

They said the education secretary seemed to be bent upon destroying this department.

Published in Dawn, November 13th, 2014