Police on Tuesday evening fired tear gas shells on contractual teachers and resorted them to baton charge, who were protesting against non-regularisation of their services. The day-long protest of teachers under the banner of All Sindh IBA Test Pass Teachers' Action Committee outside Karachi Press Club went violent after police fired tear gas shells and resorted them to baton charge when they were staging protest sit-in outside Karachi Press Club.
The protesting teachers said the government had appointed the IBA passed teachers at different schools of the province on three-year contract since October 1, 2008. They said many schools had been closed for a long time. They said the government had extended their contract for six months after it expired on August 1, 2011, which had again ended on January 31, 2012.
They said the government had backed out of its commitment to present a bill in Sindh Assembly for regularisation of their services. "Head masters of the schools have asked all the contract teachers not to take classes from February 1, 2012," they said. They said the protesting teachers were disturbed by the government's non-serious attitude and had been compelled to stage a sit-in to press their demands. They said the protestors had a plan to besiege Chief Minister's House according to their scheduled plan. They also vowed to continue their struggle.
They said around 200,000 candidates had appeared in an aptitude test held in 2007 under IBA Sukkur of which only 3.5 percent could succeed. They said the government had also earmarked funds in the fiscal budget, besides a World Bank grant for the teachers hiring programme.
Meanwhile through a statement issued here on Tuesday, Sindh Education Minister, Pir Mazhar-ul-Haq urged the protesting teacher to focus on their professional duties and avoid agitation. He assured the teachers of their job security, saying "they would not be made jobless". He said the government would take stern action against those officials barring the academic staff from teaching at the public sector schools. He said the contract-based teachers would be regularised soon.
He urged them not to pay attention to the rumours. He said the Sindh government had decided to regularise these teachers. He said the Sindh Assembly session had been adjourned suddenly for indefinite period, therefore, a bill about regularisation of IBA-test passed teachers could not be presented. He said that however the same bill had now been sent to CM Sindh for approval, which would subsequently be dispatched to Sindh Government for regularising the teachers through an ordinance.