BISEs employees protest proposed bill

PESHAWAR: The employees of the boards of intermediate and secondary education (BISEs) staged protest outside the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly against the proposed Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Board of Elementary and Secondary Examination Bill.

The protesters were holding banners inscribed with slogans against the proposed bill. The employees opposed bringing the boards under the Elementary and Secondary Education Department. They alleged that such acts would end the autonomy of the boards.

The protesters said that the proposed act would end transparency in the examination and would open ways for political interference in the boards. They said the proposed bill would lead to violation of merit as politicians could transfer employees from one board to another.

The protesters included employees of eight boards across the province. The representatives of college teachers, school teachers and private education network also joined the protesters to show solidarity with them.

Opposition leaders Sardar Hussain Babak of the Awami National Party, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz Aurangzeb Nalotha, Anisa Zeb Tahirkheli met the protesters. The opposition leaders assured them that they would ensure that the assembly rejects the bill.

Minister for Higher Education Mushtaq Ahmed Ghani also talked to the protesters and told them that the bill would be sent to the select committee where the reservation of the employees would be taken care of.

However, the protesters said that they would not end the protest as they did not trust the government. They said the government had accepted certain demands of the schools and colleges teachers but failed to implement these demands.