SAHIWAL: Faiza Raana of the Ittehad-i-Asatiza Pakistan (IAP) made history by becoming the first woman president of the Punjab Professors and Lecturers Association (PPLA) after defeating her opponent Dr Tariq Qaleem of Tehrik-i-Asatiza Punjab (TAP).

This is the first time in the 30 years history of PPLA that a woman won a professional organisation’s election. This was association’s seventh election since 1996.

Out of nine divisions of Punjab, the IAP penal won in seven divisions, including Sargodha, Multan, Bahawalpur, Gujrat, Gujranwala, DG Khan, Bahawalpur and lost in two divisions of Sahiwal and Rawalpindi.

Ch Ghulam Mustafa, chief election commissioner, announced the results in Diyal Singh College, Lahore.

Three distinct college teacher panels, spearheaded by Ms Faiza Raana from IAP, Dr. Tariq Kaleem of TAP, and Nadeen Ashrafi from Nawa-e-Asatiza had contested the election with each public sector college serving as polling station.

More than 16,000 constituents spread across 800 male and female public sector colleges across Punjab participated in the democratic process.

Dr Tariq Kaleem told Dawn that his panel had accepted defeat and “now I am at Dayal Singh College to congratulate Ms Faiza Ranna.

Ms Faiza Raana thanked the college teaching community which trusted her. Announcing her future agenda, she said she would work for the reversal of gratuity and pension rules, implementation of five-tier promotion formula, daycare centers at all-female public sector colleges of Punjab, disparity and delay in college teacher promotion, pay protection and service protection of contract lecturers of 2002, 2005, and 2009 badges.

She said it was her desire to make PPLA a “vibrant professional organisation where both HED, HEC and Punjab government should consider us as a major stakeholder of education sector.”

Ms Raana said she would review the Public Private Partnership of Punjab government for the education sector. She said the PPLA would never accept the privatisation of both higher and school education.

Published in Dawn, April 26th, 2024