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Tomorrow, teachers hailing from various regions of Pakistan, including Azad Kashmir and Gilgit Baltistan, will stage a demonstration in front of the Higher Education Commission’s (HEC) office in Islamabad.
This protest is being coordinated by the All Public Universities BPS Teachers Association (APUBTA) to voice their concerns over the delay in receiving an official notification regarding the approval of their service structure and promotion policy.
Dr. Manzoor Ahmad, the media secretary of APUBTA, stated that this sit-in will continue for an unspecified duration. He also mentioned that teachers from Rawalpindi and Islamabad will provide accommodations for teachers arriving from other cities in various hostels and hotels.
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In an official statement, the association emphasized that their primary demand is the issuance of the notification concerning the approval of the service structure and promotion policy for all BPS teachers. The press release further clarified that the protest and sit-in are responses to what they view as discriminatory and exploitative policies enforced by the HEC.
According to BPS teachers on the basic pay scale, the absence of a clear service structure due to what they perceive as “criminal negligence” on the part of the HEC has impeded their fundamental right to promotion. Despite a requirement in the HEC ordinance 2002 (section 10(q)) for the HEC to establish criteria for promotions, no substantial progress has been made in over two decades. This situation has resulted in significant issues related to promotion and seniority for more than 50,000 BPS faculty members in public sector universities.
Over the past three years, APUBTA has conducted numerous protests across the country in an effort to address the promotion-related challenges faced by university teachers. BPS teachers have asserted that the HEC has made multiple written commitments to resolve their issues, but these commitments have not been fulfilled.
An HEC official informed a national newspaper that a committee of vice-chancellors recently submitted their recommendations to universities for implementation. The official added that the HEC is willing to consider the legitimate demands of university teachers but claims there is no fault on their part.
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