LAKKI MARWAT: The district chapter of All Primary Teachers Association (Apta) held a protest demonstration here on Sunday against assigning them duty in anti-polio campaigns and what they called false reporting of Independent Monitoring Unit (IMU).

A large number of teachers walked on Old Kutchery Road and reached Qazi Ishfaq Chowk. Led by Apta district president Haji Abdul Rahim, general secretary Mohammad Ibrahim and provincial vice president Shafiq Ahmad, the protesters were carrying placards inscribed with their demands.

The leaders of the protesters demanded of the government and local administration to exempt teachers from duty in anti-polio drives. The government should let the teachers to focus on imparting quality education to the students, they said.

They said that it was not the duty of teachers to administer anti-polio drops to children at their doorsteps. “We are not against polio eradication campaigns but we want to convey to the government that teachers’ engagement in anti-polio campaigns will adversely affect the education of students at schools,” said a teachers’ leader.

Accuse Independent Monitoring Unit of filing false reports

He asked the government to depute health workers for immunisation of children against polio or hire volunteers for the purpose. Another office-bearer of Apta said that IMU personnel should mend their ways as their false reports had created numerous problems for primary schoolteachers.

The leaders of the protesters demanded of the local authorities to verify reports of IMU from the headmasters of the schools or assistant district education officers before initiating action on them.

TUBEWELLS: MPA Malik Noor Saleem Marwat said here on Sunday that tubewells were installed in 14 villages that would help to resolve the problem of shortage of drinking water.

He told this correspondent that the rural population was confronted with numerous problems and he was making all out efforts to address them. “The former lawmakers from the district did not pay any heed to resolve the shortage of water problem,” he alleged.

The MPA said that he would work hard to end the sense of deprivations among the people. He said that water pressure pump machines would be installed in the rural localities to enable the villagers to get clean drinking water.

He added that work on water supply schemes in Sherikhel, Khawajakhel, Masha Mansoor, Tajori, Khanzadkhel, Adamzai, Titterkhel, Kherukhel, Tabi Murad and other villages would soon start as funds had been provided by the government for the purpose.

Published in Dawn March 2nd , 2015

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