RAHIM YAR KHAN: A number of students of Government Degree College for Women, Manthar, on Monday protested against the nonavailability of 37 lecturers for the last two years and blocked SadigabadManthar Road for hours.

Holding placards inscribed with their demands, the students chanted slogans for appointment of lecturers in their college.

The protesters said the college had been established two years back and since day one there were only two teachers.

Deputy Director (Colleges) Sadia Rasheed told Dawn that there were total 39 posts of lecturers, including 19 gazetted, to cater to the educational needs of 325 students of hrst, second and third year.

`Currently only twolecturers of chemistry and computer sciences are teaching students and a senior associate professor of English from Government Degree College for Women, Sadigabad, Mrs Azra Jabeen, was given additional charge of principal for Manthar college. Mrs Jabeen first delivers lecture at Sadigabad and then she visits Manthar to teach students,` she said.

Sadia said the government had completed interviews for the post of principal in June 2017.

She said the government had introduced College Teaching Interns (CTI) policy a few years back to temporarily cope with the shortage of teaching staff. As per the policy, MA, M.Phil and PhD persons were hired for eight months every year from Sept 1 to May 31, but this year the government didn`t allow the process.