Over 9,000 teachers have refused to take part in an anti-polio-vaccination campaign, which was scheduled to start tomorrow, citing low wages and security concerns as the reasons, DawnNews reported.
According to President Malik Khalid Khan of the Primary Teachers' Association, teachers decided to boycott their duties in the campaign, following failure of talks with the district administration.
Khalid said it was a unanimous decision taken collectively by all the Teachers' Associations in the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Citing low wages and security concerns as the reasons, the teachers said they could not perform their duties.
The teachers said that the government should end administering polio drops to children by going door-to-door and instead set up a camp in a school.
They said police and other security personnel were not safe from attacks, particularly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, then how was it possible to ensure the safety of teachers.
It is pertinent to mention that Peshawar’s administration had deputed more than 9,000 teacher for the anti-polio vaccination drive starting tomorrow.
The teachers’ refusal comes days after immunisation teams were attacked in Karachi and Punjab’s Bhakkar region and a police team delegated to provide security to immunisation workers was attacked in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Charsadda district.
Pakistan is one of only three countries in the world where polio remains endemic, along with Afghanistan and Nigeria. Efforts to eradicate it have been seriously hampered by the deadly targeting of vaccination teams in recent years.
Militant groups see vaccination campaigns as a cover for espionage, and there are also long running rumours about polio drops causing infertility.
According to the WHO, Pakistan recorded 91 cases of polio last year compared with 58 in 2012. So far, four new polio cases have been recorded in 2014.
Saturday, January 25, 2014
Pakistan: Teachers in KP refuse to partake in anti-polio drive
Over 9,000 teachers have refused to take part in an anti-polio-vaccination campaign, which was scheduled to start tomorrow, citing low wages and security concerns as the reasons, DawnNews reported.
According to President Malik Khalid Khan of the Primary Teachers' Association, teachers decided to boycott their duties in the campaign, following failure of talks with the district administration.
Khalid said it was a unanimous decision taken collectively by all the Teachers' Associations in the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Citing low wages and security concerns as the reasons, the teachers said they could not perform their duties.
The teachers said that the government should end administering polio drops to children by going door-to-door and instead set up a camp in a school.
They said police and other security personnel were not safe from attacks, particularly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, then how was it possible to ensure the safety of teachers.
It is pertinent to mention that Peshawar’s administration had deputed more than 9,000 teacher for the anti-polio vaccination drive starting tomorrow.
The teachers’ refusal comes days after immunisation teams were attacked in Karachi and Punjab’s Bhakkar region and a police team delegated to provide security to immunisation workers was attacked in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Charsadda district.
Pakistan is one of only three countries in the world where polio remains endemic, along with Afghanistan and Nigeria. Efforts to eradicate it have been seriously hampered by the deadly targeting of vaccination teams in recent years.
Militant groups see vaccination campaigns as a cover for espionage, and there are also long running rumours about polio drops causing infertility.
According to the WHO, Pakistan recorded 91 cases of polio last year compared with 58 in 2012. So far, four new polio cases have been recorded in 2014.
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