Transfer of college teachers
Karachi: The Sindh Professors and Lecturers’ Association (SPLA) has warned taking to the streets over the issue of large-scale transfers of college teachers in Sindh. On the other hand, Senior Minister for Education and Literacy Pir Mazharul Haq has categorically said that he will not budge an inch and post lecturers in government colleges of rural areas, which badly need teachers.
They locked horns when the Department of Education and Literacy issued a list of postings and transfers of some 414 college teachers in a major reshuffle to end the acute shortage of teachers, especially in rural colleges.
The SPLA reacted sharply and its President Prof. Ather Hussain in a hurriedly-called press conference on Monday slated the move, demanding for cancelling of “all these unjustified transfers of the college teachers”.
He also announced to observe token hunger strikes outside the major press clubs and colleges daily till the decision is withdrawn. He also warned a big sit-in outside the Chief Minister House on August 10.
From Tuesday the SPLA started its token hunger strikes, which entered the third day on Thursday, when the SPLA teachers observed token hunger strike outside the DJ Sindh Government Science College Karachi and press clubs of Hyderabad and Khairpur. Prof. Saeed-uz-Zaffar, president of Principals’ Association also visited the hunger strike camp in Karachi to show solidarity with the college teachers.
Talking to the media, SPLA leaders Prof. Ather Mirza, Prof. Muzaffar Rizvi, Prof. Muhsan Raza and Prof. Iftikhar Aazmi said that their protest would continue till the withdrawal of controversial order of large-scale transfers of lecturers and professors.
On the other hand, the Sindh senior minister of education and literacy Pir Mazharul Haq chaired an emergency meeting of the education department officials at the Reform Support Unit (RSU) and categorically said that the college teachers would be posted in the far-flung rural colleges to end acute shortage of teachers there. He vowed that he would not bend knees to any pressure. He said that in case any transferred teacher felt that injustice was meted out to him or her, they should send their cases to the education department, which would ensure providing them justice.
He said that the teachers had been transferred from the colleges with excess teachers to the deficient ones, and the decision was aimed at to promote the cause of education and literacy.
However, the SPLA feels that the majority of transfers were unwarranted and aimed at to disturb the teacher fraternity.
Prof. Ather Hussain charges that the Sindh Education Department had carried out victimisation of teachers by ordering massive transfers on the pretext of rationalisation. He says there is no logic behind these massive transfers. Quoting an example, he said that the APWA College Karachi had 6,000 students with two lecturers of English subject, and out of them one had been transferred. The news