LAHORE, Jan 9: The Muttahida Mahaz-i-Asatiza Pakistan, Punjab, a component of three teacher associations, has called off its protest demonstration to be held at Nasser Bagh on Saturday following a meeting with the education secretary.

The MMAP had given a call for the protest meeting and demonstration against the government decision to nominate union council Nazims as chairmen of school councils to be constituted in primary and middle schools.

Speaking at a press conference here on Friday, MMAP secretary-general Hafiz Abdul Nasir, Punjab general secretary Taj Haider and Punjab Teachers Union's Lahore president Rasheed Bhatti said the protest had been called off as education secretary Khushnood Akhtar Lashari had assured them that the respective school headmasters/headmistresses would act as chairpersons of school councils.

The Joint Action Committee of Teachers, Punjab, is bent upon to go ahead with it protest programme as it was also fighting against the nomination of UC Nazims as chairmen and interference of NGOs in schools.

The JAC has announced that it will observe a token hunger strike in front of the Lahore Press Club on Saturday besides staging a mass protest rally from Nasser Bagh to the Punjab Assembly on Jan 15.

Hafiz Abdul Nasir said the education secretary had assured the Mahaz representatives that the headmasters/headmistresses of respective government high and higher secondary schools would continue to act as chairmen of their school councils.

He said the Mahaz would never accept appointment of UC Nazims as chairmen of school councils of primary and middle schools as well. The Mahaz had not yet negotiated with the district Nazim or the district coordination officer on the issue of school councils' chairmen.

The representatives said the Mahaz would extend its protest campaign all over the province if the government did not fulfil its promises. Meanwhile, MMAP also finalized its country-wide protest programme to press the federal and provincial governments to accept their demands regarding time scale service structure for teachers, revival of grant of selection grades, promotion on the basis of higher education, move-overs and commutation etc. It also demanded that the government should appoint teachers on a regular basis, stop privatization of schools, denationalization of educational institutions and interference of NGOs in schools.

Mr Nasir said the Mahaz would organize protest demonstrations in Peshawar, Karachi, Rawalpindi, Muzaffarabad and Quetta on Feb 12 and 19, March 10, 16 and 25, respectively. After these demonstrations, the teachers would march up to provincial assemblies and submit their memorandums to assembly Speakers. On April 15, they would hold a long march from Aabpara Chowk to the Parliament House.