MINGORA: Professors, lecturers and librarians across Malakand Division have opposed the government’s proposed plan to outsource colleges, declaring it a serious threat to education and teachers’ rights.
The College Professors and Lecturers Association (CPLA) organised a major convention that brought together hundreds of male and female college teachers from Swat, Buner, Shangla, and Malakand districts. The event was one of the largest gatherings of teaching staff in recent years, reflecting growing unrest among the academic community.
Speakers at the convention unanimously rejected both the outsourcing of colleges and recent amendments to service rules. They argued that outsourcing would commercialise education, deprive students of modest backgrounds of affordable opportunities, and jeopardise the careers of thousands of teachers and staff by undermining job security, pensions and promotions.
The participants vowed to resist these policies through all constitutional and democratic means. They urged the provincial government to hold negotiations with the CPLA leadership before September 30, warning that failure to do so would lead to province-wide protests that could disrupt the academic calendar.