Islamabad Oct 22: Teachers Declare Suspension of Academic Activities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Beginning on November 5, 26,000 boys’ and girls’ schools throughout Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa will be closed by the All-Primary Teachers Association (APTA) until their demands are met.
At Jinnah Park, the APTA also intends to hold a sit-in protest. President Azizullah Khan presided over a meeting of the association’s provincial officials in the provincial secretariat where this decision was made.
The forthcoming sit-in, according to Azizullah Khan, is a historic event that aims to secure important demands, such as the regularization of 13,500 teachers, the reintroduction of forced promotions, the resuscitation of the “Fargo Option,” and the issue of upgradation notices.
Additionally, the demonstration aims to guarantee class-specific teacher appointments in all primary schools, stop the privatization of primary schools, and establish senior primary school teaching posts in combined districts with designated codes. They are also calling for the General Provident (GP) Fund to include teachers who were regularized under the 2022 Act.
Large numbers of APTA members, including female teachers, are anticipated to show up for the sit-in, which is set to start at 1 p.m. on November 5 in Jinnah Park in Peshawar. Regardless of the result, the protest will go on forever. After that date, all 26,000 elementary schools will continue to be closed.
APTA maintains its willingness to engage in fruitful discussions, stressing that they value communication over protest. Teachers in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa staged protests earlier this month, threatening to close thousands of schools and disrupt the province’s educational system. Among their demands are the elimination of the Contributory Pension Fund and the promotion of senior teachers.
