Hundreds of Basic Education Community Schools (BECS) teachers-both male and female-from all over the country on Wednesday continued their protest for regularisation of their services and increase in their salaries at par with other government schoolteachers.
The teachers who have been staging protest sit-in for the last 10 days tried to march towards the Parliament House, but the police stopped them from entering the heavily guarded Red Zone from D-Chowk.
The protest, called by the All Pakistan BECS Teachers Association, is being led by its leaders Israr Khan, Bahader Khan, Jan Mohammad and others. They demanded that BECS teachers should be given status of regular employees and their salaries should be brought at par with those of government teachers.
"This time around, we're not going to wrap up our sit-in unless we're given the notification of our job regularisation. Our salaries should be increased at par with other government schoolteachers as we've given our blood for these schools," said Bahader Khan.
He recalled that during a sit-in some two months back, the government had assured to issue the notification, regularising the contracts of all BECS teachers, besides increasing their salaries, but that proved to be a misleading commitment.
He said that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government had come into power with a slogan of giving employment to people "but we are pressing for legitimate demand, as we have been serving with this institution for the last over ten years."
"Before giving more employment, the government especially the Prime Minister [Imran Khan] should regularise our contracts," he added.
The protesting teachers said that they also faced inordinate delay in receiving teaching material, which affected the students, adding not a single government functionary is ready to listen to them, which has left them with no option but to stage sit-in.
"We'll not go back unless our demands are met. We have not got our salaries, which is merely Rs 8,000, for the last eight months. We want to ask the rulers if this is what they call State of Medina," said Jamila, one of the protesting teachers.
The BECS is being run across the country under the supervision of the Federal Ministry of Education and Professional Training.
The protesters said that in the past the government used to give due attention to community schools, but after 2007 they lost the support of the government and the delay in release of salaries has become a routine. They said that they have taken up this issue at several forums but to no avail.
The protesters also demanded that the funds for the project should be allocated from non-development expenditure so that they could get their salaries on regular basis.
They said that the protest will continue as all the teachers have unanimously agreed they would not go home unless they are given the notification, regularising their contacts as mere promises by the politicians are of no use.
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