Teachers stage sit-in outside PA

LAHORE

A large number of schoolteachers Tuesday staged a sit-in outside the Punjab Assembly, criticising the Punjab government for handing over public schools to Daanish Schools Authority and other issues faced by them.

Earlier, the teachers gathered in the metropolis under the United Teachers Council (UTC) at Aiwan-e-Iqbal held a general meeting in which the speakers criticised the School Education Department for ignoring plight of schoolteachers and not upgrading teaching posts and introducing, what they termed, anti-education and anti-teachers policies.

The sit-in caused traffic mess on The Mall and adjacent roads for quite some time.

Dozens of female teachers also participated in the demo led by United Teachers Council senior leaders including Tariq Mahmood, Hafiz Abdul Nasir and others. 

United Teachers Council  senior leader Hafiz Ghulam Mohiuddin said the government had handed over ‘well performing’ schools to Daanish Schools Authority to turn the same into “Center of Excellence”, adding these schools were already producing good results had very good enrolments.

He said now the teachers serving at these schools were being directed to look for other options as BoGs would be running these institutions.

Later, the demonstrators dispersed peacefully announcing that next protest would be held on April 19.