Pakistan: Sindh police baton-charge, detain teachers in Karachi

The area in front of CM House turned into battleground as head teachers reached there to stage sit-in, demanding the provincial government to regularise their services, reported The Express Tribune.

A heavy contingent of police reached there and tortured them to disperse them. More than two dozen male and female teachers sustained injuries and according to teacher association police arrested 25 teachers, the newspaper reported.

"Around 15 male and 10 female teachers with bleeding head and nose have been taken away in police mobile," Siddique Dal, one of the protesters, told the newspaper.

The 958 protesters, who were appointed as government school principals after sitting an exam conducted by the Institute of Business Administration (IBA) have been protesting for the last four years demanding the provincial authorities to regularise them, the newspaper reported.

The Sindh government had announced to induct these people as permanent employees based on their performance soon after the examination in 2017.

"All head teachers have qualified the IBA test purely on merit. Initially, they [government] extended two years tenure. Later, they do it on yearly basis," one of the teachers told The Express Tribune, adding that all government officers including Education Minister Saeed Ghani have lauded their performance, but still reluctant to regularise them.

"Instead of making us permanent employees, the government has now advertised to appoint fresh headmasters. We have already served four years in the department and still continue the job," Saleem Ahmed, a teacher told the newspaper.