RAWALPINDI: Teachers from Rawalpindi Division, under the platform of Grand Teachers Alliance, on Tuesday staged a protest against the privatisation of government schools and seeking resolution of other problems. A large number of male and female teachers from Rawalpindi, Murree, Attock, Chakwal and Jhelum districts took part in the protest in front the press club in Rawalpindi. Mostly schools were locked in Rawalpindi and Murree districts on Tuesday. The teachers carried banners and placards against the privatisation of schools. Due to the protest on Murree Road, traffic jam was witnessed in and around Raja Bazaar and other roads. The administration blocked Liaquat Road and College Road and the commuters suffered a lot. Addressing the teachers, the central leaders of Grand Teachers Alliance Punjab condemned the outsourcing of government schools. They said that teachers working in private schools were even not paid salaries for several months. Compared to this, there are MPhil and PhD male and female teachers in government schools who are equipping students with best education through hard work and dedication. They demanded that instead of outsourcing government schools, the Punjab government should meet the shortage of teachers in the schools. Punjab Teachers Union President Mohammad Bashir Waraich, Convener Grand Teachers Alliance Raja Shahid Mubarik, President PTU Rawalpindi Qazi Imran and President Punjab Educator Association Malik Amjid Mahmood spoke on the occasion. The Grand Teachers Alliance has announced a province-wide protest on September 26 in Lahore followed by a lockdown in schools on September 27. However, in Rawalpindi division schools will be locked from September 24. “We reject Punjab government’s outsourcing plan as it wants to privatise the schools and put students and teachers in trouble,” said Grand Teachers Alliance President Raja Tahir Mehmood.