Citing a starvation-like situation and the inability to celebrate the upcoming Eid with their children, qualified music teachers who have passed the IBA Test held a powerful demonstration in front of Karachi Press Club on Tuesday, demanding the immediate issuance of their long-delayed joining letters from the provincial government.
Members of the All Sindh Sangeetkar Association (ASSA) turning their protest into a cultural outcry by singing melodious folk songs.
ASSA leader Barkat Ali Wado delivered scathing criticism of the authorities, stating that preventing 319 successful candidates from assuming their duties amounted to the “economic murder” of their families. He accused the government of neglecting arts education and treating music educators as ‘disposable.’
Wado highlighted that despite receiving offer letters and numerous assurances from officials, the final joining documents remain stuck in a bureaucratic limbo.
The demonstrators condemned what they termed the ‘criminal silence’ of the Sindh government regarding their plight. ‘We are artists, we are teachers, we are breadwinners, not beggars,’ one protestor declared, his voice trembling with anger and despair.
Raising fierce slogans against the Sindh Education Ministry’s ‘heartless apathy,’ the candidates asserted that they were being denied their fundamental right to employment, calling it a great injustice.
With the Eid festival fast approaching, the teachers lamented that their homes were filled with uncertainty instead of joy. The association’s leadership stated that the severe financial distress was pushing them towards suicide.
‘This is not mere delay; this is economic suffocation,” the ASSA leaders stated. ‘Our livelihoods are hanging by a thread while ministers sit comfortably in air-conditioned offices. Does the government realize that behind every pending joining letter is a family struggling to survive?’
The protestors warned that the continued inaction would not only devastate their financial stability but also undermine cultural education in the province. ‘Music is not entertainment alone; it is heritage, it is identity, it is the soul of Sindh,’ proclaimed senior teacher Ali Hassan. ‘By ignoring us, the government is silencing culture itself,’ he added.
The candidates also alleged discrimination, claiming that while teachers for other subjects had been accommodated, arts educators were left stranded. ‘Are we second-class citizens? Does our profession not deserve respect?’ shouted one demonstrator to chants demanding justice.
The association demanded the immediate release of joining letters and salaries to avert a “looming humanitarian crisis.” Many revealed they had exhausted their savings, taken out loans, and were now unable to pay for housing and their own children”s school fees.
‘Our patience should not be mistaken for weakness,’ the teachers warned, vowing to expand their protest across Sindh if their rightful appointments are not honoured immediately.
The demonstration concluded with the poignant question of how long these educators will be forced to sing for their survival instead of teaching for the future.