Several teachers detained as Karachi protesters march towards CM house

A protest by primary school teachers from different districts of Sindh turned tense in Karachi on Wednesday after police used tear gas and a water cannon to prevent demonstrators from marching towards the Chief Minister’s House.

KARACHI: A protest by primary school teachers from different districts of Sindh turned tense in Karachi on Wednesday after police used tear gas and a water cannon to prevent demonstrators from marching towards the Chief Minister’s House. Several protesters were detained during the operation.

The demonstration, organised by the Primary School Teachers Association began with a sit-in outside the Karachi Press Club. The teachers later attempted to move towards the provincial chief minister’s official residence to press for the acceptance of their long-standing demands.

Police personnel blocked the march and used tear gas shells and a water cannon to disperse the crowd. The action also caused disruption for employees working in nearby offices.

The protest led to traffic restrictions around the Karachi Press Club with several roads closed to vehicles. Sir Syed Road was also shut while traffic was redirected towards Aiwan-e-Sadr Road and Zainab Market according to traffic police.

The teachers called for the restoration of their service structure and an upgrade in their pay scales saying promised improvements had remained unfulfilled for years. They also demanded permanent employment status with effect from their original appointment dates.

Reforming the transfer policy was another major point on their agenda. The protesters want teachers’ transfers to be processed at the district level rather than through the Sindh Secretariat arguing for a more accessible administrative system.

They also urged the government to scrap the Cluster Hub Policy and withdraw its decision to merge smaller government schools with larger institutions. According to the demonstrators these measures are negatively affecting the public education system.

The association maintained that the protest would continue until the provincial government addressed its demands. Despite the police action and detention of several participants the teachers announced they would not end their sit-in without a satisfactory response from the authorities.