College teachers call off protest after successful talks with secy

College teachers who had set up a protest camp outside the Karachi Press Club since Wednesday called off their protest on Friday evening after successful talks with College Education Department Secretary Rafiq Ahmed Buriro.

More than 200 college teachers from various districts of Sindh had joined the protest camp. A large number of police personnel were deployed in the surrounding areas to avert any untoward incident. The police force had planned to stop the college teachers in case they tried to march towards the red zone. However, the teachers did not march and stayed at the camp until the evening when their talks with the government went successful.

During the daytime, a number of political leaders including Awami Workers Party Central President Yousaf Masti Khan visited the protest camp and expressed solidarity with the teachers. Many teachers of public colleges across the province also observed black day on Friday to support the protesting teachers.

College teachers in Sindh also held protests at the taluka and district levels and in front of press clubs to condemn the use of force and registration of FIRs against the protesting college teachers in Karachi. The teachers urged the Pakistan Peoples Party-led provincial government to meet their demands.

On Friday evening, the Sindh college education department deputy secretary conveyed a message of the college education secretary to the protesters and informed them that the secretary wanted to talk to them about the time-scale formula of promotions.

After receiving the message, the protesting teachers formed a team comprising Prof Anwar Mansor Mangrio, Prof Manzoor Kalhoro, Prof Rukh Baloch and Prof Benazir Junejo to talk to the secretary.

Buriro met the teachers’ representatives at the protest camp. The talks continued for more than one hour, after which both the parties agreed that the college teachers would be promoted under the time-scale formula.

The teachers promised that they would withdraw their case fixed for hearing on November 15 before the Sindh High Court. It was also decided that a committee comprising four government officials and eight college teachers would be constituted to submit recommendations for promotions under the time-scale formula to the secretary within 30 days.