Daily Times

PESHAWAR: Around 48 Working-Folks Grammar schools in Khyber Pakhtukhwa (KP) are set to be closed from today (Tuesday) as 3,500 teachers of these schools are going on strike against non-payment of salaries and regularization.

Worker Welfare Board, Open Union President Salman Humayun told Daily Times that 48 Working Folks Grammar schools in the province with 3500 teaching staff out of government concentration as their salaries are not being paid for the last seven months.

He claimed that the office bearer of the union decided to stop teaching at their respective schools until and unless the federal and provincial government issued their salaries.

The schools including Primary, Middle, High and Higher Secondary in different district of Khyber Pkhtukhwa (KP) will be closed for indefinite period, he maintained.

Around 45000 students of the labour community will not undertake any curriculum and extra curriculum activities for the third time in a year owning to their school teachers have gone for strike against the government for their halted salaries and regularization.

President of the union told this scribe that KP Government was not willing to resolve the issue and have clear intention to fire the whole staff and hire new ones for ulterior political motives. He said that the Chief Minister Parvaiz Khattak has halted the rationalization policy report which has clearly indicated the prose and cones of the issue and held responsible the provincial government for delaying tactics. He said once the government submits the report, federal government will regularize whole of the teaching staff with regular salaries.

The ratio of drop out in the Working Folks Grammar Schools reached to highest level as the teaching faculty spent most of their time in agitation for their rights. Most of the students of these schools have quit school and joined their parents I factories work.

The Supreme Court of Pakistan has already issued order to provincial government for release of the salaries and regurgitation of the contract staff that completed one year tenure but no vial till now he added.

Chairman of the Working Welfare Board Alamgir Shah told Daily Times that none of the school in the province will be remained closed despite the teaching staff strike.

He said that the billions of rupees are being collected by Federal Board of Revenue as deduction in salaries of labour class for their education and health facilities. But federal government spends the money for development projects in Punjab, he added.

The rationalization policy will give space to more jobs in the schools where most of the hiring has been made politically and against the merit.