MARDAN/BUNER: The subject specialist teachers of government schools in the district on Saturday demonstrated here to seek promotion.

Holding placards and banners and shouting slogans, the protesters staged a rally from the Government Higher Secondary School No 3 to the Mardan Press Club passing through various bazaars.

Led by Secondary School Welfare Association president Dr Jamshed Khan, they complained that the SSTs had long been denied the upgradation of their posts.

Dr Jamshed regretted that the SSTs had been working in BPS-17 since 1991. “The government promoted the employees of all cadres but ironically SSTs were ignored in an unjust move,” he said.

The association’s president said the provincial assembly had unanimously passed a resolution in Jan 2015 seeking upgradation of the SST posts but the government didn’t follow it.

He demanded of the government to notify promotion and upgradation of SSTs without delay.

Dr Jamshed warned that more than 22,000 SSTs would first protest outside the Peshawar Press Club and then stage a sit-in outside PTI chief Imran Khan’s house in Islamabad if their demands weren’t met by Jan 24.

Also in the day, SSTs demonstrated outside the Buner Press Club to demand upgradation of their posts.

Leaders of the SSTs Rehmanullah and Iqbal Hussain regretted the government’s failure to implement the provincial assembly’s resolution and a decision of the Peshawar High Court’s Abbottabad circuit bench on the upgradation of the teacher posts.

They said the province had more than 22,000 SSTs, who would protest outside the Peshawar Press Club on Jan 26 if the government didn’t meet their demands.

The speakers threatened to besiege PTI chief Imran Khan’s house in Islamabad.

Published in Dawn, January 21st, 2018