Protests in Swat, Mardan against planned merger of educational boards

MINGORA: The employees of the Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education, Swat, and other departments staged a protest on Monday against the proposed merger of educational boards.

The protesting employees started rallying from historic Jehanzeb College Swat and after passing through various routes gathered outside the press club.The protestors chanted slogans against the provincial government and opposed the decision to merge all the educational boards into the Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education, Peshawar.

Addressing the rally, BISE coordination Council president Ihsanullah, Sawab Khan, Shah Faisal, Sharafat Ali and others said that the government had issued two notifications with regard to establishing a single educational board, which was not acceptable to them.

They said that government should provide more facilities for education instead of creating hurdles for the students and their parents. The speakers vowed that the government’s decision to merge BISE Swat and other boards into BISE Peshawar would be resisted tooth and nail.

The owners of private schools also announced that they would not accept the government decision.They demanded the chief minister and education minister to reverse the decision to facilitate the students.

Like other educational boards, BISE Swat is an educational governmental body in Malakand Division, which conducts the examinations, assigns duties and registers the educational institutes in the region.

Mohammad Riaz Mayar adds from Mardan: Hundreds of employees of the Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education (BISE) Mardan staged a protest rally against the government’s plan to abolish all the educational boards and merge them into the Peshawar board.

The protesters marched from the board building to the Mardan Press Club.All Pakistan Clerks Association (Apca) central General Secretary Aurangzeb Kashmiri, Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education Union President Iftikhar Ahmed and other office-bearers led the rally.

Mardan Mayor Himayatullah Mayar, All Pakistan Paramedical Staff Federation Chairman Sharafatullah Yousafzai, Fazl Qayum, Taj Mohammad and representatives of different government employees unions and political parties attended the rally. The employees of the Mardan board were there as well.

Holding banners inscribed with their demands, the protesters chanted slogans against the provincial government.

Addressing the rally, the speakers condemned the government’s plan and alleged that the establishment of one educational board would create a host of problems for students and employees.

They argued that if the government wanted to bring reforms to the educational boards, it should take all stakeholders into confidence.The protesters said the results of the intermediate examinations would not be declared until their demands were met.

They warned that the employees would stage a sit-in outside the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly building and the Banigala residence of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Chairman Imran Khan if their demands were not met. Later the protesters dispersed peacefully.