Teachers boycott classes on UoP campus

PESHAWAR: The Peshawar University Teachers Association (PUTA) Monday boycotted classes to press the government for acceptance of their demands.

According to the PUTA office-bearers, a complete class boycott was observed in all the departments of the University of Peshawar (UoP) and its constituent colleges like the College of Home Economics, Jinnah College for Women and University College for Boys.

Meanwhile, a meeting of the executive committee of Federation of All Pakistan Universities Academic Staff Association (FAPUASA) was also held. PUTA President Dr Jamil Ahmad Chitrali and General Secretary Dr Muhammad Iqbal also attended the meeting.

The FAPUASA decided to join PUTA strike to show solidarity with UoP teachers, said a press release issued from PUTA office. “If the government failed to address the problems raised by PUTA, the teachers of all public sector universities of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa will boycott classes from Monday October 3,” the release said.

The PUTA has demanded the government to notify statutes committee as soon as possible and take all the stakeholders into confidence before formation of the committee. They demanded the government to suspend Khalid Khan, additional secretary Higher Education Department and initiate an inquiry against him for issuing “illegal notice” to university of Peshawar on September 5.

According to PUTA president, all the demands were legal and lawful. “It will strengthen the Universities Model Act and make it applicable properly in the best interest of community,” he said. “We request the government to resolve this issue as soon as possible so that educational activities can be resumed in the universities. The PUTA appreciates the efforts of the governor and other politicians who tried their level best to resolve the problem. We hope their sincere efforts will help resolve the problem,” he remarked.