Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa teachers demand immediate reforms, threaten school shutdowns

School teachers from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa organized protests to advocate for their demands, warning that they may shut down over 26,000 educational institutions, severely disrupting the province’s education system.

The teachers’ demands include the promotion of senior staff, the elimination of the Contributory Pension Fund, the reinstatement of the general provident fund, the regularization of contract teachers, and the cessation of the privatization policy for government schools.

The All Primary Teachers Association (APTA) in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa stated that if their demands are not addressed by October 30, they will stage a protest in Peshawar on November 5 and completely shut down primary schools, as reported by the Express Tribune.

Primary teachers in the province protested in front of the Peshawar Press Club, mirroring demonstrations held throughout Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, with significant participation from female teachers. The protest was led by Azizullah Khan, the provincial president of APTA, along with other officials. Demonstrators carried placards and banners that highlighted their demands.

Azizullah Khan emphasized that teachers have consistently favored dialogue. However, despite a year of ongoing efforts and discussions with government officials, a notification for the promotion of primary teachers has yet to be issued. He stated, “This notification was unanimously approved by the provincial cabinet on January 17, 2023, and was legally supposed to be enforced from July 1, 2023. However, the finance department has stalled this rightful decision by presenting inflated cost estimates, misleading the government, and preventing the implementation of the teachers’ upgradation, which aligns with the party’s educational vision.”

He added, “They had previously staged a historic five-day sit-in protest and are ready to do it again.” Despite facing hardships, the teachers remain undeterred.

The teachers called for the immediate implementation of their promotions, the appointment of class-specific teachers in primary schools, a reduction in the number of books for primary students, a rejection of the privatization of primary schools, the issuance of SPS teacher positions and codes in merged districts, the enforcement of the GP fund under the Regularization Act 2022, and the regularization of teachers who were overlooked. Additionally, they urged legislative action to ensure that teachers transferred under UC and interdistrict transfers remain in their current districts as reported by Express Tribune.

It was stated that if their demands are not met by October 30, 100,000 primary teachers from across the province will stage a sit-in in Peshawar on November 5, resulting in the complete shutdown of 26,000 primary schools.

Meanwhile, in Batkhela, primary school teachers locked their schools and held a protest in support of their demands. They warned that if their requests were not addressed, they would close government schools indefinitely and take to the streets. The demonstrators chanted slogans in front of the Malakand Press Club while holding banners and placards.

Speaking to the protesters, Dr. Salman Ali, President of the Malakand All Primary Teachers Association, along with other senior teaching staff, announced that boys’ and girls’ primary schools had been partially closed at 11 AM. They warned that if their demands were not fulfilled, the schools would be shut down permanently for an indefinite duration.