ISLAMABAD
All Public Universities BPS Teachers Association (APUBTA) is all set to stage a protest followed by a sit-in outside the HEC head-office, Sector H-9, Islamabad, on Tuesday. Keep clear that APUBT is the only registered and directly elected representative body of BPS teachers of all public sector universities of Pakistan.
Thousands of BPS teachers of public sectors universities from all over Pakistan, including Islamabad, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab, Sind, Balochistan, Azad Kashmir and Gilgit Baltistan will participate in the sit-in.
The sit-in will continue till the acceptance of the main demand by Higher Education Commission.
APUBTA’s sole demand is the issuance of notification regarding approval of service structure / promotion policy for all BPS teachers of public sector universities.
HEC has already gave written commitment in this regard in the past.
The protest and sit-in is being organed against the discriminatory and exploitative policies of HEC and delaying tactics on the part of the latter regarding approval of promotion policy for BPS teachers of public universities.
It is worth mentioning that BPS teachers of public universities are denied and deprived of their fundamental right of promotion because of lack of service structure due to criminal negligence of HEC since its establishment in 2002.
As per section 10(q) of HEC ordinance 2002, the HEC is tasked to prepare the criteria and guidelines for promotion of universities teachers which the former has unable to perform after two decades since inception.
Now it has created serious issues related to promotion and seniority for over 50,000 BPS faculty members of public sector universities.
APUBTA is struggling to address the promotion related problems of the varsity teachers since 2020 and it has staged several highly successful nationwide protests.
During this period, it also held scores of meetings with HEC officials and convinced the latter on this issue.
HEC officials signed written agreements with APUBTA on October 20, 2020, October 14, 2021, March 10, 2022, and July 24, 2023, making commitment every time that the service structure / promotion policy for BPS universities teachers will be approved and notified with a period of 2-3 months.
HEC officials also made commitment before meeting of the Senate standing committee on Education in its meeting on August 22, 2022 and also before National Assembly’s standing committee on Education in its meeting on February 3, 2023 that promotion policy for varsity teachers would be approved soon.
Besides standing committees of national assembly and Senate of Pakistan, the special committee of National Assembly for the aggrieved government employees issued clear directives to chairman HEC to do the same. But HEC officials reneged all their commitments and written agreements, violated directives issued by the parliamentary committees and also violated promised made to FAPUASA (Federation of All Pakistan Universities Academic Staff Association) on this issue.
About three months have passed since HEC gave its last written commitment to APUBTA and FAPUASA on the subject but yet the meeting of the commission has not been called for approval of the promotion policy for BPS universities teachers.
APUBTA leadership has finalized all arrangements for the protest / sit-in.
Convoys of thousands of public universities BPS teachers from all parts of Pakistan including Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab, Sindh, Balochistan, Azad, Kashmir and Gilgit Baltistan will start their journey towards Islamabad on Monday in order to participate in protest next day.
