Teachers protest in Lahore, demand reversal of controversial education policies

Teachers from across the province gathered to express their concerns about the government's failure to honor agreements previously made. According to Dawn report, the protest was organized by the Punjab Teachers Union (PTU) and GTA leaders like Chaudhary Bashir Waraich, Rana Anwarul Haq, Rana Liaquat and Kashif Shahzad, who outlined several key demands.

These include re-evaluation of the new school timetable, reversal of privatization of 13,000 public schools being transferred to NGOs and review of anomalies in service and promotion rules.

The main issues of the protesting teachers include unconditional promotion of senior subject specialists and assistant education officers, time-bound promotion to all teaching posts and in-service promotion.

Additionally, he advocated for salary and service security, upgradation of teaching roles, restoration of leave encashment, pension reforms, income tax reforms for teachers, recruitment of new teachers, improvement of school infrastructure, construction of new science and computer laboratories and the Don Talked about. According to the report, provision of allowance for computer use and head teachers.

Punjab Teachers Union (PTU) member Rana Liaquat requested that teachers across the province stand up against the intimidation tactics allegedly adopted by the administration and participate in the protest.

Liaquat was quoted as saying, “Teachers should not be afraid of negative tactics. We urge everyone to reach Civil Secretariat Lahore at any cost. Our protest is peaceful, but the administration is provoking us with negative strategies. Peaceful protest is our constitutional and legal right and cannot be suppressed by force.

The GTA leadership also expressed disappointment over the alleged inability of the Punjab government to address their legitimate concerns. Teachers opposed privatization and transfer to NGOs and raised concerns about its effects on the quality of education and job security. As reported by Dawn, he described the current teacher transfer process as chaotic and mentally exhausting for teachers.

“These new experiments will destroy the education system,” said one leader, adding that teachers are left with no option but to protest for their rights and the future of education in the province.

GTA leaders warned that the government's ongoing experiments with the education system were leading it to failure.