PESHAWAR: The All Primary Teachers’ Association (APTA), Khyber Pakhunkhwa chapter, on Saturday ended a five-day-long sit-in after the government promised upgrading their cadre within a month.

Primary schoolteachers from across the province were camped at one of the service roads next to the Jinnah Park on GT Road here since November 5 to press the government to notify the upgradation of their cadre.

Earlier, in August this year, the provincial government had reversed the decision regarding the upgradation of teachers, made during the dying days of then chief minister Mahmood Khan’s government in January 2023.

APTA provincial president Azizullah told Dawn that the teachers ended their sit-in on Saturday afternoon after successful talks with the authorities.

Earlier, he said the talks between the teachers’ leaders and government officials were deadlocked when Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur insisted he would meet the teachers once they ended their sit-in. “On the other hand, the teachers weren’t ready to end their agitation without a solid commitment from the government,” he added.

APTA leader says regularisation of 13,500 ad hoc teachers also promised

Azizullah said MNA from Peshawar Sher Ali Arbab represented the chief minister in the talks between the education department and the APTA office-bearers.

He said during the talks the government side agreed to resolving the upgradation issue within a month. He said the association’s leaders would meet the chief minister on coming Monday or Tuesday, where the minister for education and MNA Ali Arbab will also be in attendance.

During the meeting, Mr Aziz said they told the authorities that the finance department’s calculation that upgradation of 135,000 teachers would cost Rs36 billion annually wasn’t correct as the total cost amounted to only Rs11 billion. He claimed the education department also backed the teachers’ stance on the matter.

The APTA provincial president said one of their other demands was the regularisation of 13,500 ad hoc teachers, and the education department informed the meeting that a bill regarding teachers’ regularisation had been sent to the law department for vetting.

Additionally, he said the government side also promised to include the over 34,000 teachers into the general provident fund scheme. He said the education department assured them of placing the matter before the provincial cabinet.

Similarly, Azizullah said the government agreed to their demand for creating senior primary schoolteachers’ vacancies in the merged districts to create promotion opportunities for teachers, who were forced to retire in the same grade they were hired in.

Besides, Mr Aziz said the government also backed off from implementing the public-private partnership mechanism in government schools, and also committed to reducing the curriculum for primary school students.

Published in Dawn, November 10th, 2024