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HYDERABAD, May 11: The Sindh Employees Alliance has demanded that the Sindh government should take over the provincial education system.
The alliance, a conglomerate of 17 different organisations and associations of Sindh government employees, cited political interference in educational institutions as the reason for their demand.
Speaking at a news conference in the Hyderabad Press Club on Thursday, alliance secretary-general Professor Liaquat Aziz said Sindh was facing a shortage of 2,000 lecturers and 30,000 schoolteachers.
He said there were 41,000 schools in the province, of which 6,900 were closed while there were no buildings for 12,000 schools.
He pointed out that the government had announced Rs1,000 per annum for girl students from class I to class VIII of rural areas, but the students were not getting the amount.
Liaquat Aziz said teachers and other government employees would not accept any ban on their associations/unions as the proposed restriction was not only a violation of Article 17 of the 1973 Constitution, but also of the international human rights charter.
He alleged that the government was taking these undemocratic and unconstitutional decisions to hide its administrative inefficiency and corrupt practices.
The alliance office-bearer demanded a fixed quota for employees’ children quota in the education department and universities, uniform policies for all the universities of Sindh, repeal of removal from service ordinance 2000, payment of similar salaries and allowances to all the government employees, including teachers, regardless of their place of postings and the contract of all the retired officers in universities, cancellation of educational boards and other educational organisation and handing over of the educational boards to the education department on the pattern of Punjab.
He also demanded enforcement of the Sindhi Language Act 1972 in all the government and private educational institutions from class-III to class-XII.
He also demanded payment of group insurance money to the retiring government employees immediately, one Eid bonus for the employees, furniture and scientific equipment for educational institutions and reinstatement of the suspended teachers.
Professor Liaquat Aziz announced that the alliance would hold a protest rally on May 15 to press for the acceptance of employees’ demands.
Alliance chairman Mohammad Rafique Jarwar, senior vice-chairman Abdul Ghani Kumbhar, vice-chairman Hussain Bux Khamisani and other office-bearers were present on the occasion.
PROTEST: The All Pakistan Trade Unions Organisation has condemned an inordinate increase in the LPG prices.
In a statement issued here on Thursday, organisation leaders Mohammad Ashraf Rajput, Mohammad Zaman Khan and Ghulam Qasim said thousands of rickshaw drivers had converted their rickshaws on the LPG, but they were in deep trouble.
They said that the price of the LPG had gone up from Rs32 to Rs80 per kg, which had created unrest not only among the rickshaw drivers.
They demanded that the prices of LPG should be reduced to save the livelihood of thousands of persons.
PWF: Pakistan Workers Federation general secretary Mehboob Qureshi in a statement has lashed out at the Hyderabad Development Authority for withholding the salaries of the HDA employees for March and April 2006. He said that due to non-payment of two months’ salaries, their families were starving.
He appealed to the authorities to ensure payment of the salaries by May 15.
PROTEST: Activists of the Jeay Sindh Student Federation staged a protest demonstration in front of the Hyderabad Press Club here on Thursday against what they termed implication of Jeay Sindh Qaumi Mahahz workers in an alleged attack on Mazhar Memon, a nominated accused in the murder of JSQM leader Gul Mohammad Bhatti. Protesters blocked the press club for over an hour.
