HYDERABAD, April 7 It is injustice with the college laboratory assistant that he is recruited in grade-7 and retires in the same grade after 25-year service.

This was stated by Sindh College Laboratory Staff Welfare Association leader Mujahid Ali Bhutto at a news conference at the press club here on Tuesday.

He said that basic qualification of a laboratory assistant was Higher Secondary School Certificate (science) but many of them were graduates and postgraduates yet they were not given any promotion during their entire service. Contrary to that, Secondary School Certificate-holder teachers and clerks could rise to grade-17 with the passage of time, he claimed. He said that from professional point of view, the post of laboratory assistant was no less important as he facilitated students in their experiments and demonstrations and trained them in the use of scientific equipments and chemicals.

It was a high risk post as a laboratory assistant had to deal with dangerous chemicals, Mr Bhutto said, and added that sometimes the laboratory staff fell prey to accidents.

He said that 1,200 laboratory assistants of the colleges of Sindh had presented their problems to representatives of successive governments and education officials over the past 20 years but in vain.

He warned that if their problems were not solved, they would boycott practical examinations of first and second year during the current year.

He said that a laboratory assistant should be given grade-12 after completing 10 years of service, grade-14 after 15 years, grade-16 after 20 years and grade-17 after 25 years of service.

He demanded that laboratory assistants of Sindh colleges also be given academic allowance as was the case with federal government-run colleges, and laboratory staff be provided safety kit for handling dangerous chemicals.—Bureau