HYDERABAD, Jan 11: Fifty two women teachers, whose fate has been hanging in balance for the last three years, held a protest demonstration outside the press club here on Sunday against the non-payment of their 13-month salaries.

Speaking on the occasion, Farhana Farooqui said that they had been running from pillar to post for the last three years to get their services regularized but to no avail.

Shamim Halepoto deplored that salaries of the 52 secondary school teachers had been withheld for the last 13 months and demanded that they should be paid the salaries immediately and their services regularized.

She said if the problem was not resolved, they would stage a sit-in outside the Governor House, Chief Minister House and Sindh Assembly. Government School Teachers' Association leader Farkhanda Rajput condemned the insensitivity of the Sindh education department and said that the general body of the GSTA, scheduled to meet on Jan 14, would evolve a strategy on the issue.

The education department had sent the teachers on forced leave in November 2000 on allegations of illegal appointment. Following protests by the association and recommendations of the Army Monitoring Cell, they were appointed for six months on ad hoc basis on Jan 23, 2001, which was further extended for another six months. It was extended for the third time on June 23, 2002.

However, the teachers have not been paid their salaries, although the city taluka council as well as the district council had adopted resolutions for their regularization.

PLASTIC SURGEONS: The two-day 9th Annual Conference of Plastic Surgeons, organized by the Pakistan Association of Plastic Surgeons in collaboration with the Liaquat University of Medical and Health Sciences and the Higher Education Commission, concluded here on Sunday.