The New Teachers Action Committee (NTAC) has threatened to stage a sit-in at the Bilawal House roundabout from December 25 for an indefinite period.
This warning was issued by Abubakar Abro, the chairman of the NTAC, which is a committee formed by teachers who were appointed in 2012 during the tenure of former provincial minister for education, Pir Mazhar ul Haq.
Abro said the provincial government had failed to release their salaries for the past five years, despite repeated promises. “We [the affected teachers] will continue the sit-in for as long as needed. We will not move until they pay our salaries.”
He said the NTAC was mobilising teachers from across Sindh to join the protest, which would start from Sachal Goth on December 25.
“They have forced us to come out on the roads for our rights. We do not want to create problems for the people and authorities of Karachi; all we want is what we are rightfully owed,” said Abro.
On November 23, police had baton charged the teachers protesting over non-payment of their salaries since their appointment in 2012, as they attempted to march on the Sindh Assembly from the Karachi Press Club.
The law enforcers also arrested around 25 teachers, while 10 of the protesters were injured when the cops tried to stop them from advancing on the provincial legislature. Two months ago the then school education secretary Abdul Aziz Uqaili had promised representatives of the unpaid teachers that the issue of their salaries would be resolved by November 16.
After Uqaili’s transfer on October 7, his replacement, Dr Iqbal Durrani, also assured the unpaid teachers that he would continue the policy of his predecessor and resolve their issue. In 2012 the then education minister Pir Mazharul Haq had appointed around 6,750 employees in the Sindh Education & Literacy Department. Four thousand teachers and 2,000 lower staffers were from Karachi, while the remaining belonged to Ghotki, Sanghar, Sukkur and Khairpur.