KARACHI: Police on Monday arrested 40 persons when they tried to march on the Chief Minister House from the Karachi Press Club to record their protest for not getting appointment orders as schoolteachers despite passing required tests in 2013.

Around 200-250 candidates, including more than a dozen women, held a demonstration outside the KPC. They said they passed NTS tests for appointment of schoolteachers in 2013 by obtaining 60 to 90 marks but the education department was not issuing their appointment orders.

Despite passage of nine years, NTS-passed candidates are not being given offer orders, the protesters said, adding that the government had ignored them and gave another ads in 2021 for recruitment of teachers and a test was carried out by IBA-Sukkur in which 99 per cent candidates failed.

“But the Sindh government by demonstrating its anti-education policy had given them offer orders,” said one of the protesters. “We are compelled to hold the demonstration outside CM House.”

As the protesters tried to move towards the CM House, contingents of the police put up barricades at Deen Muhammad Wafai Road near the KPC. The police informed the protesters about imposition of Section 144 of the criminal procedure code asking them to end their protest and disperse peacefully.

“The police and district administration held talks with the protesters and arranged their meeting with education department officials, where the education secretary assured them that their cases would be decided on merit,” said SSP-South Asad Raza.

The police asked them to disperse after they held a peaceful demonstration, but they did not listen and tried to proceed towards CM House. The police arrested 40 protesters as it had no option but to take action.

Published in Dawn, May 31st, 2022