RAWALPINDI: The Grand Teachers Alliance, a coalition of Punjab teachers’ unions, on Wednesday announced that teachers from the entire province would converge on Lahore on Sept 26 to protest the government’s plan to outsource educational institutions.

They would also shut down schools on Sept 27. Teachers in Rawalpindi division, on the other hand, will lock down schools from September 24.

This was announced by Grand Teachers Alliance Punjab President Raja Tahir Mehmood, Punjab Teachers Union Rawalpindi district President Qazi Mohammad Imran, Grand Teachers Alliance district president Akhyan Gul, Educators Association Punjab President Malik Amjad, Pensioners Welfare Association President Raja Tariq, Sardar Qasim and others at the Rawalpindi Press Club.

The teachers’ leaders said they had entered a decisive phase, adding that protests would be held in all divisions of Punjab on Sept 26, and would continue till the acceptance of their demands.

Reject govt’s plan to outsource institutions; Pindi educators to close schools from Sept 24

“We reject the Punjab government’s outsourcing plan as it wants to privatise schools,” said Grand Teachers Alliance Punjab President Raja Tahir Mehmood.

Elaborating the protest plan, he said in the Rawalpindi division, the protests had started and from Sept 24, they would close all schools. He said teachers would gather in Rawalpindi to launch a full-blown protest.

Punjab Teachers Union District Rawalpindi President Qazi Mohammad Imran called on the government to withdraw the decision of privatisation of educational institutions.

He said the privatisation process had been going on for decades and about 250 to 300 government schools had already been privatised in Rawalpindi including 40 in Kahuta, Taxila and Kotli Sattian.

He went on to say that more than 130,000 posts were lying vacant in educational institutions.

“If the government does not desist from privatising educational institutions, we will be left with no option, but to close schools. Under Article 25A of the Constitution, it is the responsibility of the state to provide education to its citizens,” he added.

Mr Imran demanded judicial inquiry to ascertain the government’s designs behind the plan to outsource schools, saying that the decision to outsource schools due to teachers’ performance was a reflection of the government’s own failure to provide adequate support and resources to educators.

“Why have they not increased the number of government schools and why do they involve teachers in dengue, polio and other drives,” he added.

Meanwhile, a teachers’ protest was held in Murree in front of GPO office on The Mall. Punjab Teachers Association General Secretary Raja Shahid Mubarrak said the protest had been launched in Rawalpindi division and would continue till the acceptance of demands.

Published in Dawn, September 12th, 2024