LARKANA: A symbolic token hunger strike was held at Jinnah Bagh here on Sunday by members of Primary Teachers Association (PTA) against frequent teachers transfer postings despite ban and acute shortage of furniture in the primary schools demanding high level inquiry. They also held a protest demonstration.
The protesters included Amrit Lal Oad, Deedar Ali Khokhar, Ghulamullah Sangi, Afsar Ali Qureshi, Abdul Karim Mekan, Ayaz Hussain Tunio, Zamir Hussain Gad, Muhammad Sharif Umrani, Ejaz Dhamrah and others alleging that the officials of the education department in Larkana are illegally changing and appointing headmasters despite the ban on transfer postings, which is causing the environment of schools to deteriorate.
They further alleged that there is a severe shortage of furniture in the schools due to which the students are forced to study sitting down on earth while corruption of Rs87 crore has been made in furniture and in second phase furniture worth Rs48 crore is still to come which also is feared to be embezzled. They said that there is also a fear of violence and injustice will be done to the schools.
They said that a full-fledged gazetted officer could not be appointed to the post of Taluk Education Officer (TEO), which has been vacant for a year, due to which the problems of the teachers are getting worse and the list of candidates who have passed the IBA test on merit has not been disclosed to the candidates which amounts to harassment.
They demanded to immediately appoint senior teachers in primary schools as headmasters and 17th grade TEO and take action against corrupt officials in furniture and issue merit lists to IBA test pass candidates and give them offer orders or else, they warned, they would enlarge scope of their protest and the door of the court will be knocked.
When contacted, District Education Officer (DEO), Primary, Aneesur Rahman Jalbani said that the protesting teacher Amrit Lal was previously assigned as a 14th grade primary teacher at Noorani Masjid Primary School where he used to attend duty late and was the head of the school.
Jaklbani said that his behavior with the headmaster and other teachers was not good, so he was transferred to my office a week ago. He said that Oad has not come to his duty till now and is protesting and making false accusations which have no truth. He further said that the furniture tenders were done not by me but by the Director, Elementary Secondary, Abdul Aziz Chachar.
