CHITRAL UPPER
The female teachers of Basic Education Community Schools (BECS) along with hundreds of male and female students here on Tuesday held a peaceful protest and walk demanding release of their last 16-month salaries by the provincial government.
The protesting teachers were working under BECS project since 1996 when it was initiated by the federal government and later in June 2021 the project was handed over to the provincial government who further placed it under another project of Elementary Education Foundation (EEF).
They said that there are 1200 such community basic schools in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province out of which 96 were located in Upper and Lower Chitral districts. In each school one female teacher performs duty and teaches students up to 5th Class.
They deplored that EEF was showing many of BECS schools closed in the previous report despite the fact that they were operational and forced teaching staff to sign an agreement that they would never raise their voice at any forum or approach the court for any demand.
The foundation further refused to recognize the 23-year of their service, the protesting teachers said and added that their salaries were not being paid from last 16 months due to non-signing of this cruel contract.
They said that the BECSs were established inside a house in such areas where there was no primary school in its surrounding and mostly youngest or poor children read in these schools who could not go to schools in other areas.
These female teachers and students staged walked to DC office and ended their protest after successfully negotiating with the Deputy Commissioner.
District Upper Chitral Deputy Commissioner Manzoor Ahmed Afridi assured them after talking to the Additional Secretary Education Department that their problem would be resolved in two weeks
These teachers thanked the Deputy Commissioner for the talks and his assurance for solving their genuine issue. .
These female teachers demanded of the provincial government to release their salaries of 16 months and also regularize their jobs and save these schools from closing adding that closure of such schools would deprive hundreds of poor children from the right of education.
