KARACHI: Amid a protest by unpaid teachers, Sindh Education Minister Jam Mehtab Dahar on Thursday admitted that the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) had been at the centre of corruption in the hiring of teachers in the province.
“There were 23,000 ghost hiring in the province, with 11,000 in Karachi alone, at a time when there were no vacancies,” the minister said in a statement to media, adding, “The [relevant] department was bribed to hire teachers by the dozen in 2012, some of whom are not even acquainted with the Arabic language.” He, however, added that the Sindh government has decided to retake tests of all the teachers.
The minister’s statements came after teachers from Karachi and other cities of Sindh protesting non-payment of salaries since 2012 on Thursday marched towards the Sindh Assembly and held a protest there. The protesters claimed that School Education Secretary Abdul Aziz Uqaili had assured two months back that their salaries would be paid but he had failed to keep his promise.
Dahar also claimed that these protesters were planted. Office bearers of the Teachers Association Sindh, on the other hand, claimed that recruitment in the Education Department in 2012 was made according to the rules and regulations.
A heavy contingent of the police was deployed outside the Sindh Assembly earlier in the day and roads leading to the building were blocked prior to the arrival of the protesting teachers. Commuters faced inconvenience on the route from Sindh Assembly to II Chundrigar Road due to the protest, as a traffic jam halted the flow of traffic in the area.
In September this year, the police had baton-charged and injured teachers who were protesting non-payment of salaries outside Karachi Press Club (KPC).
Three teachers were arrested during the protest after the police tried to quell the protest using batons and water cannons. The protesters had claimed that the authorities had assured them that they will be paid before Eid.
They called a strike when their salaries were not released after Eid. The protesters also threatened to surround chief minister’s house if their demands were not met.
Following the incident, Sindh Information Secretary Nasir Hussain Shah reached the protest site for negotiating with the protesters.
On July 25, around 300 government school teachers renewed their demand for salaries outside KPC. A similar protest was held earlier as well which ended in front of Sindh Assembly on June 5, the same day provincial budget was announced.
The protest ended after Uqaili had assured the protesters that their problems will be resolved within a week. Teachers across the provinces have been protesting non-payment of salaries since the last five years.
