Educational institutions in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa employees protest
PESHAWAR:13 April: The employees of educational institutions in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Thursday staged a protest against what they termed the implementation of the policies of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in the education sector.
Holding banners, All Boards Employees Coordination Council members first gathered on the premises of Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education (BISE), Peshawar, and declared the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Boards of Elementary and Secondary Examination Bill as detrimental to promote education.
They also chanted slogans against the Adam Smith International (ASI), the NGO tasked with reforming the system in the province.
After staging protest on the premises of the BISE, some of the employees boarded a bus to join other protesters at the Peshawar Press Club (PPC). However, when the bus was leaving for the PPC some students blocked the road urging the protesting employees to complete their pending tasks before heading for the protest.
The students also offered to join the protest if the BISE employees address their issues. During the protest, the gates of BISE remained closed and nobody was allowed to enter the premises.
The All Boards Employees Coordination Council’s members reached the PPC where they joined the College Teachers Association, All Teachers Grand Alliance (Schools), Private Schools Association and Commerce College Teachers Association. The union of these associations has been named as Joint Education Action Committee.
Prof Abdul Hameed Afridi, Riaz Bahar, Samiullah Khalil, Tariq Safi and others were leading the protesters.
The protesters were holding banners and placards inscribed with slogans against the government policies.
They termed the proposed bill an attempt to destroy the education sector in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The protesters alleged that the government was being dictated by NGOs for formulating anti-education policies.
The representatives of the college teachers alleged that the government had backtracked on the promise of the proposed package for teachers.
They said that despite concluding an agreement with schoolteachers, the government was implementing timescale conditionally and was eliminating the teachers’ service structure.
They alleged that the proposed bill would end the autonomy of the BISEs and politicians would easily interfere in the affairs of the boards. Similarly, the private educational institutions would be supervised by bureaucrats instead of experts, they alleged.
The protesters said that students, parents and teachers would be the worst affectees of these actions.
They alleged that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)-led provincial government was depriving the poor segment of the society of their right to free education.
The protesters said that the government failed to ensure provision of textbooks to the students at schools.
The protesters vowed to continue their struggle to save the education system in the province.
Talking to The News, a representative of the schools association said that they would hold another protest outside the Banigala residence of PTI chief Imran Khan on April 17 and would announce boycott of the FA/FSc examination if their demands were not accepted.
When asked about the BISE strategy in case the teachers boycotted supervising the FA/FSc examination, Chairman Dr Fazlur Rehman said he could conduct the exam without their support.
He added that in such eventuality the examination may be delayed for a couple of days but would be conducted efficiently without any hindrance. “It only requires willpower,” he remarked.
A senior official, on the condition of anonymity, told The News that there was no mention in the calendar of BISE that teachers would conduct the examination.
He said any qualified person could perform the duty. The official said it was not a rule but an established practice that the services of teachers were acquired for holding the examination.
The official said the examination was an assessment of teachers and it would have been better had teachers not given the responsibilities in the examination.
He said the issue had been politicised and suggested that the government should hold talks with the protesters and address their reservation. When they continue the protest after their reservations are addressed, then strict action must be taken, he suggested.
Meanwhile, protests rallies were also staged in all the district headquarters of the province the proposed bill and regulatory authority.The news.
