RAWALPINDI, Oct 26: Professors and lecturers of Rawalpindi colleges on Friday threatened to launch a protest movement if government failed to fulfil its promises made to them and did not meet their just demands in four days.
This was stated by Punjab Professors and Lecturers Association (PPLA) Rawalpindi Division President Mohammad Ilyas Qureshi in a press release.
He said that if both federal and provincial governments did not honour their promises about the up-gradation of lecturers’ basic pay scales and regularisation of contract lecturers till October 31, they would launch a protest move to get their demands accepted.
The union officer-bearer said education activities were taking place in the institutes as the session was in the midst of the year and they did not want to disturb but the inordinate delay and silence on the part of the government had compelled them to initiate protests for their rights as the college teachers were doing in NWFP and Balochistan.
Giving details of their protest campaign, PPLA leader told this reporter that after October 31 the college teachers in Rawalpindi division would first two days wear black armbands while taking their classes. In the next three days they will observe partial boycott of the classes taking only selected periods. After that the teachers’ representatives will meet in Lahore to decide future strategy, he added.
Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz on Salam Teachers day on October 5, 2006 had announced that all university and college teachers would be promoted in the next grade. But after more than a year no step has been taken to up-grade the scale of college teachers where, although such an advantage has been extended to university teachers.
The PPLA president said Punjab Chief Minister while addressing the teachers at the occasion of opening of a girl college in Rawalpindi on October 25, 2006 pledged to regularise all contract lecturers but the promise was never fulfilled.
Giving the details of the teachers’ demands, he said lecturers appointed in 1987 were still in the same 17 Basic Pay Scale (BPS) after 20 years and some of their students appointed as subject specialists had obtained BPS-18. Teachers feel humiliated for this and demand immediate up-gradation of their scales.
He said the teachers demanded new promotion structure which should made it mandatory that a teacher should not remain in the same BPS for more than 10 years.
He said the teachers sought uniform house rent and conveyance allowance for both federal and provincial teachers. At present a federal government teacher in BPS 17 takes Rs8,000 as house rent and his counterpart in provincial government takes Rs3200. Similarly a teacher in urban areas gets 45 per cent conveyance allowance while his colleague in rural areas gets 30 per cent. He said the teachers demanded 30 per cent medical allowance.
Least but not the last teachers ask for higher education allowance. They demand that a PhD teacher should be given Rs5,000 every month and Rs 2500 to an M Phil teacher. The president of the union also said that a training academy should be set up to keep the teachers abreast of the new teaching methodologies in the ever changing world.
ONLINE ADDS: Punjab Teacher Union District Rawalpindi have announced to obverse sit-in on November 8 outside the office of District Nazim Raja Javed Ikhlas for implementation of teachers incentives package announced by Punjab Government.
On September 2, the Punjab government had announced an incentive package of Rs4 billion for teachers but despite lapse of 46 days it has not been implemented, said President Union Dr. Chaudhry Sagheer Alam while talking to media men.
Besides staging sit in , he said, the teachers would hold Protest demonstration outside the District Nazim Raja Javed Ikhlas on the same day. He demanded strict action against those officers who are creating hurdle to implementation of the package.
Dr Chaudhry Sagheer Alam made it clear the teacher would continue their struggle till acceptance of their demands.