KARACHI : A large number of teachers associated with the Basic Education Community Schools Project (BECS) organized a protest against the non-payment of their salaries on Monday in front of Karachi Press Club (KPC). Protesters carried placards and chanted slogans against government. They said that the government had not paid salaries for last nine months to BESC teachers. Chairman BECS Action Committee Maula Bux Suprio said that Shaheez Benazir Bhutto had introduced this project in 1996 as part of the ‘Prime Minister Literacy Commission’ and it was aimed at to provide non-formal basic education to young children. The students of class-I to V received education in a multi-grade class (the students of different grades sit in same class). Unfortunately, the bureaucratic attitude never allows this project to get a boom, he said.He said that owing to the 18th Amendment, the future of 172, 000 students and 2, 200 teachers and more than 100 other staff would come to an end. This is an informal education system but teachers use syllabus of the Sindh Text Book Boards (STBB) to teach their students. In a primary sections of the government school Rs1200 per month were spent on a single student whereas only Rs200 was spent per child in a month at these non-formal schooling, he said.According to the BECS Action Committee, Rs70 million were allocated for this project from 2006 to 2010 and still funds of Rs44 million are available but the authorities are not ready to clear the dues of teachers.The teachers and members of action committee demanded to the President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani, Governor Sindh Dr. Ishratul Ibad Khan and Chief Minister Sindh Syed Qaim Ali Shah to play their role and save the future of 172000 students, 2200 teachers and 100 non-teaching staff.PPI