SAHIWAL: The Punjab Professor and Lecturer Association (PPLA) has opposed the recently proposed public-private partnership of public education.

It urged the provincial government to engage in consultative processes with key stakeholders before finalising any policies concerning the college teaching community of Punjab.

These sentiments were expressed during an oath-taking ceremony for 150 provincial and divisional representatives of the PPLA held at Diyal Singh College, Lahore, on Saturday.

Over 1,000 members of the general council and college teachers participated in the ceremony.

PPLA president Faiza Raana highlighted numerous challenges faced by the college community, including job security for 6,000 contract teachers, approval of a 5-tier promotion formula, addressing discrepancies between inter-university and intra-university systems, and the absence of a policy for colleges associated with BS-4 year programmes.

Other issues include countering leave encashment and pension reforms by federal and provincial governments, filling over 3,000 vacant posts, establishing women’s hostels in remote areas, developing daycare centers in postgraduate colleges, and advocating for a 100 percent salary increase for college teachers in the upcoming budget.

Published in Dawn, May 5th, 2024