Police use tear gas on protesting teachers, detain 42 marching towards CM House in Karachi - The Express Tribune

Police used water cannons, tear gas and batons to disperse protesting primary school teachers from various districts of Sindh near the Chief Minister's House on Wednesday, detaining 42 demonstrators demanding the restoration of their service structure, promotions and other employment-related rights.

The protesters, representing the All Sindh Primary Teachers Association (ASPTA), staged a sit-in outside the press club before attempting to march towards the CM House, which was immediately blocked by a heavy police contingent.

Speaking to The Express Tribune, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) South Mahzor Ali said the police had detained 42 men for protesting in the red zone.

He said the protestors are in the process of being released after Karachi Bar Association General Secretary Arshad Shar guaranteed on behalf of the demonstrators that the detained persons will not engage in protests inside the red zone.

“The protestors will be handed over to the Karachi Bar Association after they file the undertaking,” SSP Shar added.

Teachers from Hyderabad, Mirpurkhas, Jacobabad, Mirpur Mathelo, Sukkur, Shaheed Benazirabad and other districts participated in the demonstration.

The Express Tribune witnessed police personnel preventing the demonstrators from reaching their destination by charging with batons, firing tear gas shells and using a water cannon, triggering chaos at the scene.

Several teachers were injured, one of whom was taken to the hospital, while a number of protesters, including the association’s central president, were reportedly taken into custody as they pressed the authorities to accept their 14 work-related demands.

Speaking to The Express Tribune, a protesting teacher, Kausar, said that police had subjected demonstrators to severe tear gas shelling as they attempted to move towards the CM House. She also claimed that the association's central president, Ijaz Ali Chandio, had been taken into custody.

Kausar said teachers would not call off their protest or reopen schools until their leadership was released and progress was made towards meeting their demands.

Shabina Khan, another teacher associated with the Primary Teachers Association Hyderabad, said teachers had been campaigning for their demands since August and that the protest had not been organised without prior notice.

She said the association had already submitted a list of 14 demands to the government, with the restoration of a formal service structure for primary school teachers among its foremost demands.

According to Shabina, many primary teachers worked on the same grade for years, with limited opportunities for career progression.

She said teachers were currently serving in grades 9, 14 and 16, while high school teachers had better promotion opportunities and their Departmental Promotion Committees (DPCs) were held regularly.

She added that the government had also discontinued the progression of primary teachers to high school teacher posts.

Shabina highlighted that Sindh Education and Literacy Minister Syed Sardar Ali Shah had expressed his desire on October 5 to see primary teachers promoted up to grade 20. However, she maintained that a formal service structure was necessary to make such promotions possible and provide teachers with a clear career progression pathway.

Another key demand, she said, was that teachers' service should be counted from their initial date of appointment. Under the existing arrangement, the initial three-year contractual period is not included in the service record, adversely affecting their chances at promotions and grade upgrades.

“Some senior primary teachers in Sindh have been serving for 18 years but are still working in grade 9, whereas teachers recruited between 2022 and 2025 have been appointed in grade 14,” she revealed.

To end absenteeism, Shabina said the association has demanded that the district-level biometric attendance and transfer systems be restored, while asserting that the Sindh Secretariat centralised both systems, creating difficulties for teachers.

“Transfers are sometimes made to distant areas without taking their preferences or convenience into account,” she lamented.

Speaking to The Express Tribune, Saima Khan, the association's district vice president, said smaller government schools should not be merged with larger institutions.

“The government should explore alternative solutions to address administrative issues,” she added.

She said the cluster hub policy, under which primary schools were being merged into larger schools, was undermining the identity and status of primary schools and their teachers.

“Teachers are being assigned administrative responsibilities beyond their core duties,” she protested.

The protesters also expressed concern over the declining number of standalone primary schools across Sindh, saying several institutions were being merged with higher secondary or larger schools.

They specifically cited the proposed merger of Hyderabad's historic Firdous Primary School with a higher secondary school, saying such decisions threatened the separate identity of primary education institutions.

In a unified call, the teachers demanded the restoration of a formal service structure, upgradation of grades, counting of service from the initial date of appointment, decentralisation of the biometric attendance and transfer systems, withdrawal of the cluster hub policy and preservation of the independent status of primary schools.

They vowed to protest until their rights were granted.

Following the protest, roads surrounding the Karachi Press Club were closed to traffic, while Sir Syed Road was also shut. Traffic was diverted towards Aiwan-e-Sadr Road and Zainab Market, according to traffic police.

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