PESHAWAR, April 27: All Teachers Association, NWFP, has asked the government to immediately appoint senior English teachers (SETs) on all vacant posts in order to overcome shortage of staff in the province.

The ATA officer-holders, Muzammal Tarnabi, Mohammad Zaman and ASlam Marwat, in a joint statement said that the vacancies had not been filled in four years.

The Supreme Court regional benches at Abbottabad and D.I. Khan had given their verdict for the appointment of SETs on the vacant posts, they added.

They claimed that 75 per cent, session-wise and batch-wise, in-service teachers, had been interviewed some five months ago, but none has been appointed so far.

The merit list, they said, was ready, but it had been put on hold owing to litigation. But, now there was nothing to stop the government from appointing new teachers, they observed.

They requested the NWFP chief minister Akram Khan Durrani and education minister Fazal Ali to order the appointment of SETs.

They also appealed to the government to exclude the teacher community from the contract system, which was destroying every institution of the country.