LARKANA, Oct 3: Senior high school teachers (HSTs) in Larkana district on Thursday asked the authorities concerned for their due promotion saying that the government approved such promotions in the entire province with the only exception of this district which was unfair and unjust.

Over 30 HSTs including Manzoor Mangi, Fazal Mohammed Sariyo, Sanaullah Aghani and Shamsuddin Tagar speaking at a news conference in the local press club said that there were 33 government high schools for boys in the district which were without a gazetted headmaster while junior teachers were assigned to look after the office of headmaster at many of these institutions.

“This is not only blocking the due promotion of senior teachers but also ruining the education,” they said.

They revealed that the posts of headmasters at the 33 schools were lying vacant for the past six years, and lamented that instead of granting HSTs’ overdue promotions, the provincial government had been assigning the job to juniors on an ad hoc basis.

The cities and towns where government high schools are being run by junior teachers as ‘in charge headmaster’ are Larkana, Moenjodaro, Garhi Khuda Bakhsh Bhutto, Dokri, Badah, Mahota, Khan Wah, Wasayo Bhutto, Panjodero, Dhamrah, Karani, Gajanpur, Garilo, Faridabad, Bakrani, Tatri, Madbaho, Aqil, Khairodero, Gabar Massan and Garilo, according to them.

The injustice was creating strong resentment among the aggrieved HSTs who had been waiting for their due promotion for long, they said. The absence of gazetted headmasters at these schools was also creating administrative problems, they added.

“The education department has been neglecting senior HSTs in Larkana district for the past 23 years.” they regretted, and pointed out that they had been working in same cadre throughout their service period. “Some of us had been appointed as HSTs in 1988 but never considered for a promotion despite meeting the criteria,” they claimed.

Many HSTs had now reached the age of retirement age and some of them had even retired.

On the other hand, they said, 500 HSTs appointed in 1992 and 1993 in other districts had been promoted to the post of headmaster.

The aggrieved HSTs told the media that about two months back, they called on Sindh education minister Nisar Ahmed Khuhro and apprised him of their issue but without a sympathetic response.

They appealed to the judiciary to taking notice of the great injustice and order an inquiry into the affair.