HYDERABAD, March 22 A group of junior teachers held a demonstration outside the press club here on Sunday to protest against non-payment of seven months' salary to 206 teachers.

They said that if their salary was not paid, they would be forced to sell their children as their families were already starving.

The chairman of the Teachers Action Forum, Hyderabad district, Naeem Noorani, Abdus Samad Samoon and Zeeshan Akhtar said that the provincial secretary education and EDO education were withholding the salaries of 206 junior teachers who have been running from pillar to post for the last seven months.

They said that now they were even prepared to commit self-immolation and sell their children. They regretted that such a treatment was being meted out to poor teachers during the democratic regime of PPP.

They appealed to the authorities, particularly the Sindh education minister to save the teachers and their families from starvation.

Our Dadu correspondent adds Three school teachers fell unconscious at the hunger strike camp outside the press club here on Sunday, the third day of their hunger strike unto death in protest against non-payment of their salaries for the last four years.

Qurban Ali Panhwar, Shabbir Zounr and Koro Khan Solangi were taken to Civil Hospital Dadu where they were admitted. They pledged to continue their hunger strike unto death after they were provided medical treatment and regained senses.

Talking to journalists, Qurban Ali Panhwar said that they were among those teachers who were supposed to receive salary from the funds of school management committees (SMCs).

He said that Sindh education secretary Rizwan Memon had issued a notification on Feb 9 and directed the EDO, education, Dadu, to pay four-year-salary to such 60 teachers but the EDO was not ready to pay them salary.

Mr Zour said that “SMC” teachers, who were appointed by the former EDO education to reopen closed schools, regularly performed their duty but they had been denied salary.

When contacted, EDO, education, Sajan Mallah, said that he had put up a file about the salary of “SMC” teachers before the DCO who was delaying the release of funds for this purpose.

The DCO said that he had not received the file and was unaware about the issue.