Sticks for educators, carrots for extremists

Sticks for educators, carrots for extremists

Teachers protesting for their rights and end to corruption baton-charged and water-cannoned, but no action taken against religious parties staging sit-in and causing

nuisance for city’s commuters since Sunday

Karachi

Having been in power for almost nine years now, absurd decisions have become a hallmark of the Pakistan People’s Party-led Sindh government.

The party does not seem to be learning any lessons either, with one more such decision witnessed on Wednesday when the provincial authorities ordered police to baton-charge and use water cannons to disperse teachers protesting outside DJ Science College against corruption, all the while ‘negotiating’ with hate-spewing protesters encamped at Numaish Chowrangi for the past four days.

The Sindh Professors and Lecturers Association (SPLA), members of which faced the police’s wrath outside the DJ Science college, has announced that the teaching faculty at government-run colleges would observe a ‘black day’ on Thursday (today) against police mishandling, irresponsible behaviour of the education secretary, a “blue-eyed” special secretary’ nepotism, and corruption and misconduct in the education department.

The teachers were staging a protest rally for their increments and promotions and scrutiny of college principals and against corruption in the education department.

SPLA members from all districts of the province had gathered at the college and after holding a general body meeting, were marching towards the Chief Minister’s House to register their concerns.

However, the police, who had surrounded the main entrance of the DJ College, used a water cannon to stop them.

At least three teachers suffered injuries. Professor Shoukat Jokhio from the Government Degree College, Quaidabad was immediately shifted to the Civil Hospital as he had suffered deep wounds to his head. The other two were identified as Professor Muhammad Ayub and Professor Mehar Sultana.

The SPLA said the police had briefly detained six teachers after which the protesters went back to the college and did not make a second attempt.

SPLA leaders said the police released the detained teachers after a few hours.

Later, the SPLA called a core-committee meeting wherein it was decided to observe a ‘black day’ and stage demonstrations outside public-sector colleges. After the meeting, the protesters left the DJ Science College.

“Teachers will wear black armbands while taking classes and later they stage demonstrations in front of their respective colleges across the province,” SPLA Karachi president Feroz Uddin Ahmed Siddiqui told The News.

He added that teacher associations in other parts of the country had also endorsed the black day call.

Siddiqui said the police, on the directives of the Sindh government, had also used a water cannon to disperse teachers during their protest on February 26. The protesters were demanding immediate action against education secretary Dr Fazullullah Pechuho, who, according to them, had not resolved the lingering issues related to the teacher community. During their protest, the teachers were irked by a message apparently released by education secretary’s office wherein Dr Pechuho had termed the protesters as thieves. The SPLA leaders responded that even though Dr Pechuho’s father and brother too were teachers, unfortunately he was labelling others as thieves.

They added that teachers were not terrorists but treated like outlaws. The association also announced that teachers would stage a demonstration outside the Karachi Press Club on Thursday to record their reservations.

The SPLA demanded an end to bad governance, corruption and favouritism in education department. They also demanded immediate implementation of four-tier upgrading policy already executed in the other three provinces.

They also demanded holding departmental promotion committees for the employees of BPS-18, 19, and 20 at earliest besides completing the seniority list of BPS-17 and 18.

Their other demand included DPC for librarians, appointment of senior and eligible people as college principal, MPhil allowance for college teachers, and leave with pay policy for teachers interested in MPhill and PhD.

The SPLA said for the last 16 years, teachers of BPS- 17 in Sindh’s colleges were deprived of promotions. It said a “blue-eyed” special secretary, who has looking after over 10 sections, was making decisions on his own and violating all rules and regulations.

KU teachers slam action

Muhammad Moiz Khan, the secretary of the Karachi University Teachers Society and a member of the KU Syndicate, condemned the police action on teachers.

 “The teachers are the backbone of any society and they should be treated with respect. The actions taken by the Sindh government raise serious questions about its sincerity towards education and the future of the province’s children.”

Professor Dr Jamil Kazmi, Professor Dr Harris Shoaib and Nadeem Ahmed Khan of the KU Syndicate too expressed similar views.

Numaish protest  

The sit-in staged by the religious parties at Numaish Chowrangi for the last four days finally came to at an end on Wednesday night after the government succeeded in reaching an agreement with their leaders in Islamabad.

The residents of Karachi suffered immense difficulties during these four days as their protest caused massive traffic jams on the city’s major thoroughfares including MA Jinnah Road, Sharea Faisal, and II Chundrigar Road.

The roads leading to the Governor’s House and the Chief Minister’s House were also blocked to ensure that the protesters do not reach there, causing further traffic problems. Commuters also suffered on Jamshed Road, Nishtar Road, and Sir Shah Suleman Road and the thoroughfares in Lasbella, Nazimabad, Pak Colony, Karimabad because of the sit-in.

Though a heavy contingent of riot-control police was deployed near the sit-in and a water cannon too was brought there. However, the provincial government was reluctant to order action against religious parties unlike the manner in which it unleashed police on the protesting teachers.

— Shamim Bano and Fasahat Mohiuddin also contributed to this report