KARACHI, June 2: The Sindh Professors and Lecturers Association on Friday condemning the price-hike and rising inflation in the country has demanded immediate increase in the salary of government officials, including teachers, saying that government employees were finding it difficult to keep body and soul together and a 100 per cent raise in the salary of government employees was necessary.

In a meeting headed by Syed Riaz Ahsan, the SPLA demanded formation of new pay scales by merging inflation allowance into the basic salary.

The SPLA demanded payment of 60 per cent house rent allowance on the present basic salary, besides all previous dues of house rent allowance that had been ceased since 1994, adding that 30 per cent medical allowance should be given on the basic salary and teachers be allowed medical treatment from private hospitals.

The meeting approved that recreational allowance should be restored and sufficient funds should be allocated for the professional training of teachers and their further studies like MPhil and PhD. Special amount should be earmarked for the purchase of scientific machinery and apparatus, books, computers and chemicals, the assoication demanded.

It was further demanded that funds for the utility bills of the educational institutions should also be allocated and overall educational grant should be increased up to five per cent of Gross Domestic Product.

Prof Liaquat Aziz, Prof Manzoor Hussain Chishti, Prof Aga Khalid Pathan and other leaders attended the meeting. —PPI