Daily Times

LAHORE: Following successful negotiations with the government on Sunday, the protesting schoolteachers ended two-day sit-in Lahore against privatisation of government schools.

Talking to media after negotiations with Punjab Education Minister Rana Mashhood, Punjab Teachers Union (PTU) President Sajjad Akbar Kazmi said that the education minister has assured them to constitute a committee, which would present its reservations regarding privatisation of schools and handing them over to non-government organizations (NGOs).

He told the media that the teacher’s service structure would also be revised and they will be promoted accordingly. He also announced to end sit-in after the media talk following which teachers dispersed in a peaceful manner.

Earlier, Opposition Leader in the Punjab Assembly Mian Mahmoodur Rashid and a delegation of Pakistan Muslim League-Q (PML-Q) also joined the sit in, demanding the government to resolve teacher’s problems as soon as possible.

Despite scorching heat, teachers continued their protest on Sunday as hundreds of teachers including women joined the sit-in on The Mall at Faisal Chowk, outside the Punjab Assembly.

It is pertinent to mention here that teachers of public sector schools of Punjab staged a sit-in on Saturday against the privatisation of government schools and handing them over to non-government organisations.

The Punjab government in March had decided to hand over more than 1,000 public sector schools to NGOs through Punjab Education Foundation (PEF) for showing “poor results”. The decision was strongly criticised by teachers of those schools and they had threatened to counter the decision.

The protesting teachers were holding placards and banners with slogans inscribed on them against the Punjab government for its “anti-education” policies. However, the teachers were very optimistic and committed to extending the sit-in for next two to three day if their demands were not met. They said that they had left their houses not for political purpose but for their due rights.

Rana Liaquat, a teachers’ representative, said that initially the Punjab government decided to hand over only those schools to the NGOs, which were performing poor, but now it was handing over more than 200 schools which were showing satisfactory results.

Later, talking to media, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Mian Mehmoodur Rasheed said that the decision of the Punjab government is condemnable. He said that “good governance” of Shahbaz Sharif forced teachers on to streets. He also assured full support of PTI to the teaching community.