KARACHI: Teachers to observe strike on 29th: Violence in colleges
By Mukhtar Alam
KARACHI, April 27: Expressing concern over the recent violent incidents in the city colleges and the indifferent attitude of the provincial education department towards teachers, the Sindh Professors and Lecturer's Association (SPLA) has decided to observe strike in colleges throughout the province on April 29.
At a press conference, leaders of the SPLA said that despite lapse of about two weeks, neither the persons involved in vandalism at colleges had been arrested so far nor any compensatory payment had been given to the teachers whose vehicles were torched by criminal elements outside the Islamia College of Arts and Commerce on April 17.
Moreover, politically motivated elements from outside have been damaging the academic peace at colleges and so much so a student in uniform was killed within the premises of his educational institution, Government College of Commerce and Economics, on April 20, but the authorities remained unmoved, while no plausible measures had been taken so far to check the law and order situation in colleges, which was condemnable.
The SPLA office-bearers Prof Riaz Ahsan, Prof Manzoor Hussain Chishti, Mirza Athar Hussain, Prof Raza Bhatti and others, said that the educational institutions in Sindh were under serious threat of student organisations working under various political parties.
Students' bodies clash with each other, cause damages to the institutions' property, try to influence the administration of the institutions for undue admissions and also pressurise teachers for various purposes, including use of unfair means in examinations, they added.
It was further said that it was high time that the authorities concerned should rise to the occasion, ensure protection to teachers and students, and uproot all such students, both from within the institutions and outside, who carry out uncalled for businesses in the premises of educational institutions.
Prof Riaz said that it was unfortunate that none of the high-ups, including the city nazim, education minister, education secretary or others at the helm of affairs visited the teachers or families of students affected due to the acts of hooliganism at the Islamia and Commerce Colleges for any expression of sympathy or support.
Coming on other issues, the SPLA office-bearers expressed the view that some high-ups in the education department had once again issued a couple of undue letters and notices to the teachers without observing set procedures or norms, including those belonging to a woman college of Hyderabad, and demanded for the withdrawal of those at the earliest as those were tantamount to victimizing the teaching community.
The leaders demanded arrests of culprits involved in vandalism acts and murder of a student on different occasions at two colleges of Karachi, payment of compensations against the damaged cars and motorbikes belonging to teachers and other staff, withdrawal of letter of suspension of 27 college teachers of Hyderabad and show-cause notices issued to different teachers, extension in the employment tenure of ad-hoc teachers and payments of dues to them, promotion of DPEs and librarians, implementation of decisions reached during a meeting of Sindh chief secretary with the SPLA delegation on March 29.
The association also demanded for the removal of political slogans, party flags, posters, stickers and photographs from all educational institutions and for evacuation of rooms occupied by student groups and others politically affiliated quarters in the educational institutions.
It was said that about 7,000 teachers in 230 colleges would observe complete strike on April 29 and hold protest meetings and send resolutions to different authorities.
