PESHAWAR/CHARSADDA/SWABI/MARDAN: The action committee of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Professors and Lecturers Association (KPPLA) on Monday vowed to continue a partial boycott of classes against the provincial government’s decision to outsource the under-enrolled colleges and the proposal to link the promotion of college teachers to an MPhil degree and research work in their respective subjects.

The committee met with Prof Qazi Zafar Iqbal in chair, which unanimously decided to continue their protest until withdrawal of the decision by the higher education department.

The teachers in government colleges didn’t attend classes after 10am, while students protested against the decision to outsource the colleges.

The KPPLA action committee also decided to hold a press conference soon to decide future line of action, according to a statement issued after the meeting.

Lecturers’ body flays proposed amendment to service rules for teachers’ promotion

The meeting also decided that the local units of the teachers’ association will hold meetings with the lawmakers in their areas to brief them about the outsourcing of colleges and proposed amendment in the service rules for the teachers’ promotion, wherein the education department has proposed to set the qualification of an MPhil as one of the conditions for promotion.

The teachers will request the lawmakers to raise this issue on the floor of the provincial assembly.

The action committee also decided that if the government didn’t withdraw both the decisions then the teachers will further expand their protest.

Meanwhile, the students of Shabqadar Government Degree College in Charsadda staged a protest against the outsourcing of the colleges with low enrolment.

The students carried banners and placards inscribed with slogans against the decision. The participants demanded that the government immediately withdraw the decision. They stated that education should not be turned into a business. Privatisation, they argued would halt the academic journey of poor students and restrict education to a limited segment of society.

Student leaders emphasised that education was a fundamental right of every citizen and that any attempt to make it expensive or limited in the name of privatisation would not be tolerated.

They demanded that the government formulate a new education policy in consultation with all stakeholders. During the protest, all roads in Shabqadar were closed to traffic, causing severe inconvenience to the public.

Students of Government Postgraduate College, Swabi, blocked the Swabi-Mardan Road for several hours to protest the outsourcing of colleges.

The protesting students, led by Pakhtun Students Federation, gathered on the premises of the institution and marched to Gohati Bus Stop.

The students were holding placards inscribed with different slogans against the ‘privatisation’ of the educational institutions.

Later, the police officials assured the student leaders of conveying their concerns to the high officials of the education department, leading to opening of the road.

Students held a protest demonstration against the provincial government’s policy to outsource educational institutions at the College Chowk in Mardan on Monday.

The demonstration was organised by Jamiat Talaba Islam, Mardan chapter. The students blocked the main thoroughfare for several hours, causing a severe traffic jam.

While addressing the gathering, JTI provincial general secretary Hafiz Farmanullah rejected the provincial government’s decision to hand over 55 public colleges to the private sector.

He stated that education was a national necessity and a fundamental right of students, which cannot be allowed to be ‘sold’ in the market for ‘business’ and ‘profit’.

“This policy is actually designed to benefit a few capitalists and business elites, and it will primarily harm students from poor and middle-class backgrounds.”

The speakers asked the provincial government to focus on improving and reforming public sector educational institutions rather than handing them over to ‘capitalists’ under the guise of privatisation.

In Ekkaghund tehsil of Mohmand district, students of the government degree college staged a protest against the abolition of the BS programme, leading to the closure of the Peshawar-Bajaur Highway.

The students said the discontinuation of the BS programme threatened their educational future. College lecturers also boycotted classes.

The protesters chanted slogans against the government and demanded the immediate restoration of the programme.

During the protest, former ANP MPA Nisar Mohmand and JUI-F leader Arshad Bakhtyar issued a three-day ultimatum, warning that if their demands were not met, protests would spread across the district.

They called on the Mohmand deputy commissioner to take urgent notice.

Published in Dawn, October 7th, 2025