By Sudhir Ahmad Afridi
PESHAWAR: In Peshawar, the All-Primary Teachers Association (APTA) organized a significant protest, bringing together hundreds of teachers to demand improvements in their working conditions, including upgradation of their positions and better pension benefits. For the second consecutive day, APTA held a sit-in at Jinnah Park, with both male and female primary school teachers actively participating in the demonstration.
The protest had a widespread impact on the region, as numerous primary schools across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa were forced to close in solidarity with the strike. APTA leaders visited schools across the province, urging teachers to shut down their classrooms and join the protest in Peshawar. The local district administration, however, did not allow the teachers to gather in Jinnah Park, prompting the protesters to relocate their sit-in to the main GT road under the BRT bridge.
Aziz Ullah Khan, president of APTA, spoke passionately about the teachers’ rights, stressing that they would continue their peaceful protest until their demands were met. He pointed out that both the previous PTI-led government and the current administration had promised to address teachers’ grievances, but little progress had been made. The teachers’ primary demand was upgradation, and they were also calling for an end to cuts in their pensions and for salary increments that reflect their educational qualifications.
Speakers expressed frustration with the government’s approach, highlighting that while the exchequer seemed to be perpetually empty when it came to funding teachers’ demands, it was always full when it came to granting perks to the ruling elite or bureaucracy. This disparity fueled the teachers’ anger and calls for justice.
