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Over 2,000 teachers' posts vacant in Pindi: 140 schools without headmasters
Rawalpindi, April 01, 2008: As many as 2,500 posts of teachers in primary and
middle schools in Rawalpindi district are lying vacant while 140 out of 266 high
schools are without headmasters causing adverse effects on the careers of the
students who were dreaming of a 'Parha Likha Punjab'.
The vacant posts in
both girls and boys schools include 1,032 of primary teachers course (PTC), 246
elementary school teachers, 100 senior vernaculars, 264 English teachers, 47
oriental teachers, 120 Arabic teachers, 159 physical educations tutors and about
200 SST.
Official sources in the administration section of the education
department said on Monday that majority of the teachers, both males and
females, were needed in primary schools while in many institutions a single
tutor was handling over 50 children due to dearth of academic staff.
The
sources said former Punjab government had banned appointment of regular teachers
across the province under the contract policy, resulting in acute shortage of
staff.
The sources said under the slogan of Parha Likha Punjab, the
authorities had constructed school buildings and distributed some textbooks
among students. However, they did not pay any attention on appointment of
schoolteachers and the issue continued to deteriorate.
"A new school
building without adequate teaching staff is meaningless. Dozens of schools in
Kalar Syedan and Kahuta towns are practically closed due to shortage of teaching
staff," he added.
Executive District Officer (education) Chaudhry Yousuf
confirmed that over 2,500 posts of teaching staff were lying vacant while 140
high schools were without head teachers.
He said the situation was grave
in rural and remote areas like Kotli Sattian, Kalar Syedan and Murree, where a
single teacher was covering over 80 students.
Education experts
attributed the shortage of teaching staff to the qualification criteria fixed by
the former provincial government in the contract policy and to the ban on
regular appointment of teachers.
Under the contract policy, a local
teacher should be appointed as tutor in the respective institution on a contract
basis. But interestingly, the authorities did not ponder how a teacher would be
appointed in case there was no local person available in the area.
The
EDO suggested that the condition of higher educational qualification for the
post of contract teachers should be abolished to encourage graduates and other
degree holders to apply for the posts in order to fill the vacancies.
Mr
Yousuf said he had talked to provincial authorities about the shortage of
teachers, adding City Nazim Raja Javed Ikhlas had also been informed about the
issue. He said now all hopes were pinned on the new government to resolve the
problem.
The EDO said Rawalpindi had the highest literacy ratio in
Punjab; however, he feared that the shortage of teaching staff could badly
affect the ranking of the district.
Mr Yousuf said the priority task of
the district administration in the new setup should be the appointment of
teaching staff. Dawn
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