20000330

AJK govt to hold

matric exams under

army supervision

From A Correspondent

MUZAFFARABAD: After the failure of negotiations between the govt and protesting teachers, the Azad Jammu and Kashmir government on Tuesday decided to call in army for the holding of matric examination and to stop the payment of salaries to the teachers on strike.

Acting Prime Minister Sahibzada Mohammed Ishaq Zaffar while briefing the newsmen said that the govt has decided to recruit highly qualified persons in place of protestors. He said the goat has also accepted teachers'40 demands out of 41 including restoration of leave salary, and detached 1,047 posts from college of education Afzalpur and has shifted them to their home districts.

Ishaq Zaffar said that the govt did not accept the demand of restoration of teacher sons' quota in fresh recruitments because in case of restoration, employees of other govt departments will demand the same.

The acting AJK prime minister said as the teachers protest strike has been entered into 15 consecutive day on Tuesday, we appeal to them to end the protest keeping in view the future and carrier of more than one million students as in case of continuation of strike their one year will be lost which cost bad effects on their future.

Ishaq Zaffar warned that if teachers did not end their protest strike from March 1st, their salaries would be held and under efficiency and discipline rules they would be served notices on their absence from duty for 15 consecutive days and consequently they would be terminated from their jobs.

Setting the March 1st deadline for teachers to end strike, he said that if they did not end strike by this date, the government would promote the students from 1st to 9th to upper class without taking examinations while army would be deployed in the 178 Matric examination centers across the AJK

He said the govt has made the arrangements for the holding of annual spring examinations under the vigil of army.