RAWALPINDI, July 21: A number of teacher associations will unitedly pressurize the government to withdraw its decision of privatizing educational institutions, Dawn has learnt.

The associations, which have joined hands, include the Punjab Teachers Union, Punjab Professors and Lecturers Association (PPLA), Senior Staff Association, Headmasters Association and Science Teachers Association.

A joint meeting is scheduled to be held on Tuesday in Gordon College in which union leaders will devise a strategy as how to press the government to take its denationalization bid back.

The teachers are also planning to boycott duties which they will be assigned in the forthcoming general elections and centralized marking of intermediate examination which currently is being processed, local president of Punjab Teachers’ Union (PTU) Imtiaz Abbasi said.

The union leaders have vowed not to rest until the authorities concerned responded to their protests. The movement will be taken to its logical conclusion, Mr Abbasi said.

They have also demanded of the government to immediately remove the provincial (Punjab) education minister whom they labelled as anti-student, anti-teacher and anti-education. His policies are harmful for the coming generations, the PTU president said, and demanded of the government to appoint an education-friendly and learned person in his place.

On the other hand, teachers and college professors continued their protest meetings on Sunday.

They vowed to foil the nefarious designs of the incumbent rulers, who they alleged had been following the policies of the enemies of this country.

Through a planned conspiracy, our rulers have connived with the foreign agents and want to deprive the coming generations from education, the basic requirement for all kinds of developments, the union leaders said.