PESHAWAR: Pandemonium was witnessed in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly on Tuesday as the opposition members came down hard on the provincial government for its proposed changes in the service structure of teachers.

After fiery speeches of the members of different political parties, the opposition lawmakers walked out of the house as protest, which led to the adjournment of the session due to incomplete quorum without completing the agenda set for the session.

The session was chaired by Deputy Speaker Prof Mehar Taj Roghani.

Debate on the proposed changes to the teachers’ service was initiated in the house as hundreds of teachers of government colleges staged a demonstration outside the provincial assembly for several hours against the proposed formation of the Board of Governors at the level of colleges to run their affairs.

House adjourned over lack of quorum after opposition’s walkout

The quorum was broken in the house after the walkout of the opposition parties. Nighat Orakzai of the Pakistan People’s Party pointed out the lack of quorum.

The chair asked the officials of the assembly to count the members present in the house.

On the direction of the chair, the bell rang for some time but the quorum remained incomplete as more members didn’t turn up. She also asked ministers Mian Jamsheduddin and Imtiaz Shahid to go the opposition’s lobby and bring members back, but in vain.

Speaking on a point of order, ANP parliamentary leader Sardar Hussain Babak said schoolteachers were protesting on the roads against the elementary and secondary education department’s draft bill meant to change the nature of their service.

He insisted that after the passage and enforcement of the proposed law, teachers would not remain ‘civil servants’ and instead they would become ‘public servants’ and therefore, they could easily be removed from the service.

Mr Babak said the situation had become worsened in large hospitals of the province after they’re given autonomy under the reform initiative of the provincial government.

He added that on the same pattern, BoGs were being established in government colleges.

The ANP leader also said the government’s tall claims of bringing reforms in the health department proved false as patients didn’t get proper treatment after dengue outbreak.

Munawar Khan of the JUI-F said the ruling PTI claimed in public rallies to have given priority to the education sector in the province but they turned out to be false as teachers were protesting on the roads against its policies.

PPP MPA Nighat Orakzai, Qaumi Watan Party’s Aneesa Zaib Tahirkheli and PML-N’s Raja Faisal Zaman also participated in the debate.

Minister for E&SE Mohammad Atif Khan and adviser to the chief minister on higher education department Mushtaq Ahmad Ghani were not present in the house to respond to the criticism of the opposition members.

Law minister Imtiaz Shahid tabled the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Control of Narcotic Substances Bill, 2017, and the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Elementary and Secondary Education Foundation (Amendment) Bill, 2017, in the house.

The chair adjourned the session until today (Wednesday).

Afterwards, E&SE Minister Mohammad Atif Khan and information minister Shah Farman, in a joint news conference, rejected the criticism on reforms in the education sector.

They rushed to the Peshawar Press Club to clarify the government’s position on the opposition lawmakers and teachers’ protest and claimed only the teachers, who were affiliated with political parties, were protesting.

The education minister said reforms were underway to end political interference in educational institutions.

He said those taking salary would be answerable to the government.

The minister further said few teachers were against the educational reforms and therefore, they were instigating other teachers but it would not adversely affect the reform process.

“All genuine demands of teachers will be incorporated in the bill,” he said.

Published in Dawn, September 20th, 2017