LAHORE, March 5: The Mutahida Mahaz-i-Asataza Pakistan will launch a country-wide campaign to protest against excesses and injustices to teachers.

This was stated by Mahaz senior vice-chairman Raja Shan Ali and secretary-general Raja Zafeer Ahmad Satti while speaking at a press conference here on Tuesday.

They said the Mahaz would hold press conferences, put up posters and distribute handbills at all district headquarters across the country on March 16.

The Mahaz would organize protest rallies in the 111 districts of Pakistan and Azad Kashmir and 19 FATA agencies on March 26. The Mahaz would also hold its action committee meeting in Peshawar on March 31 and chalk out further strategy.

He said federal and provincial governments had failed to implement the recommendations finalized in 1994 at the inter-provincial education ministers and secretaries conference in Quetta.

He said the conference had recommended an end to the disparity in the perks and privileges of federal and provincial governments teachers.

After the implementation of the revised pay scales, the salaries of teachers serving up to BS-16 have increased from 13 to 32 per cent while those serving in BS-17 to BS-22 got an increase up to 53 per cent. He also lamented that the government had also abolished move-overs, selection grade and higher qualification increments in the new pay scale policy.

He also claimed that the district and tehsil Nazim’s interference in education department had increased.

The leaders also criticized the government’s move to recruit teachers on contract basis and sacking of the leaders of teachers in Sindh.

They demanded that the increase in teachers’ salaries should be equalized at all levels. They also demanded increase in house rent, appointment of teachers on regular basis, 25 per cent quota for teachers’ children for admission to professional colleges and jobs and end to political interference.