PESHAWAR, March 15: Malgari Ustazan, an association of teachers sympathetic to nationalist parties, has urged the government to enhance the salary and allowances of teachers in the wake of ever-increasing price hike in the country.
Speaking at a news conference at the Peshawar Press Club on Wednesday, provincial president of the association, Mr Islamuddin, general secretary Bakht Akbar and other office-bearers, presented a charter of demands to the provincial government, including about professional, economic and academic problems of the teachers’ community.
He said that the salaries of the teaching staff which is meagre in comparison to other professions, should be doubled. He said that similarly, the scale and annual promotion of different cadres be increased, balanced and justified in the education department.
He said that the allowances and incentives being provided to teachers under the 1983 notification was stopped, which, he demanded, should be revived at once with the same spirit.
The provincial president said that the scale of SET teachers should be upgraded to BPS 17 so that the standard of education could be improved while the medical allowances should be enhanced to a specific level.
Similarly, he said the house rent should be increased according to salaries and scales and the children of teachers must be provided 25 per cent quota in government jobs, particularly in the education department.
The allowance for science teaching staff should be enhanced from Rs200 to Rs1,000 while PTC and middle school teachers should be appointed in board examinations.
The Malgari Ustazan also demanded of the provincial government to declare Pukhto as an official and compulsory subject and posts of subject specialists for Pukhto should be created at the higher secondary level. It demanded that Arabic and Islamiat teachers should be given BPS-16.
Provincial president Islamuddin said that the provincial government should take into confidence the representatives of teachers association and resolve these issues on a priority basis otherwise the teachers’ community would launch token strike, including boycotting classes, and peaceful rallies and hunger strikes across the province.