SHANGLA: Primary schoolteachers from Martung and Puran tehsils held a protest rally in Aloch area on Tuesday, urging the education department to reschedule their induction training from winter to summer.

The teachers expressed concerns that harsh winter conditions would disrupt this critical course.

They said they had boycotted the training – scheduled from December 23 till February 28, 2024 – because it was quite difficult for them to attend the course. They said teachers, including women, recruited after 2020 had been called for the training.

Noor Elahi, a protest leader, said induction training sessions used to be held during the routine working days in the past, but the department had changed the policy this year and scheduled it in the winter vacation, which was not possible in a mountainous region like Shangla.

Ask education dept to reschedule course to summer

“Travel in snowbound Shangla areas is a potential threat to lives. Heavy snowfall not only blocks roads but also disrupts electric supply, making it difficult for us to attend training,” he said.

Sher Mohammad, another teacher from Puran, said that the training was without break, which was not possible in snowbound stations.

Nabeela Anjum, a teacher, said daily visiting the training centre located in Aloch from her Bengalai village in the chilly weather was difficult for her.

She said they had informed their reporting officers about their concerns, and expected them to communicate the same to the education department high-ups to postpone the induction training.

The teachers said their boycott of the training would continue until the department postponed it to summer.

When contacted, district education officer for women Parveen Rehman told Dawn that she supported the teachers’ demand and requested the authorities in Peshawar to postpone the induction training in view of severe cold weather.

REPAIR OF WATER LINES: The district administration launched a campaign on Tuesday to repair all the water supply lines located in the snowbound areas as leaking water gets frozen on roads, causing accidents.

Deputy commissioner Mohammad Fawad Khan said a meeting about the winter contingency plan decided to repair the water supply lines going along the roads in upper parts of the district to prevent any mishap, according to a statement issued here.

The statement said all the leaking pipelines would be fixed within a week.

Published in Dawn, December 25th, 2024