OKARA: A large number of male and female teachers on Monday staged a demonstration outside the press club against what they said anti-education policies of the Punjab government.

Ofñce-bearers and members of the seven teacher organisations along with clerks association participated in the protest.

The representatives of these organisation, including Rai Muhammad Akbar, Gulzar Ahmad Bhatti and Mehr Mukhtar, in their speeches lashed out at the provincial government for handing over schools to Punjab Education Foundation and Daanish authority. They demanded withdrawal of the policy.

They also criticised the policy of punishment to teachers in case of dropouts and poor class-V and VIII results.

The protesters demanded that the upgradation of teachers as prom-ised to EST, PST and SST be notified.

In Toba Tek Singh, scores of teachers of government schools staged a protest demonstration outside the press club on Jhang Road over `apathy` of the Punjab government for not fulfilling their demands.

They were chanting slogans against the privatisation of schools and demanding upgradation of pay scales.

Addressing the protesters, Punjab Teachers Union Faisalabad Division President Tahir Afzal Warraich, Grand Teachers Alliance District President Irshad Randhawa and others condemned the government for transferring teachers of schools showing poor results in class-V and VIII exams.

They demanded grant of pay scale 14 to PTC, 16 to EST and scale 17 to SST teachers.

They announced that if their demands were not accepted teachers would beforcedtolock schoolsas aprotest.