Senior school teachers seek upgradation

MARDAN: A delegation from the Senior School Teachers (SSTs) Welfare Association Khyber Pakhtunkhwa met with Speaker Provincial Assembly Babar Saleem Swati, and demanded the issuance of a notification for their upgradation before the upcoming provincial budget.

According to a press release, the association presented a charter of demands to the assembly speaker, including SSTs’ upgradation and a substantial increase in salaries. The speaker assured the delegation that the issue of SST cadre upgradation would be resolved on a priority basis.

The delegation included SST Welfare Association Khyber Pakhtunkhwa president Zulfiqar Ahmed, provincial general secretary Farhad Takar, provincial spokesperson Javed Iqbal, Ikram Bacha, Bakht Buland Khan, Ali Mast Jadoon, Sher Bahadur, Haseeb-ur-Rahman, Aurangzeb, Rafiq Javed, Ghaziz Ahmed, and Osama.

On the occasion, the provincial president briefed the speaker and Provincial Education Minister Faisal Khan Tarakai about the long-delayed departmental promotion committee for SST (females), which has been pending for over six years.

They emphasized that deferred SST promotion cases should be addressed immediately and called for middle school in-charges to be declared headmasters with appropriate powers. Additionally, they demanded an increase in medical and teaching allowances.

The provincial president stated that if the charter of demands was not implemented within 20 days, they would initiate province-wide protests and stage a sit-in at Peshawar.

He mentioned that one and a half years ago, the Provincial Assembly of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had approved the SST cadre upgradation proposed by former provincial education minister Shahram Khan Tarakai. Despite the approval, no implementation has occurred, increasing the deprivation among the SST cadre.

He urged the speaker of the provincial assembly and the education minister to allocate a reasonable amount for teachers’ promotion and upgradation in the upcoming budget by implementing the previously approved upgradation.

The delegation expressed their gratitude to Education Minister Faisal Khan Tarakai and hoped he would fulfill the demands of the SST Welfare Association Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and address the concerns of government employees in the province.