Balochistan education: Severe shortage of university teachers

Shortage causing immense difficulties for staff to impart quality education.

QUETTA: The University of Balochistan, Quetta, is facing a severe shortfall of teachers causing immense difficulties for staff to impart quality education to the growing number of students. “Currently there is a need for 100 teachers, since our PhDs and assistant professors got transferred to other provinces, while many lecturers went abroad for their PhDs,” a university official said. He said the university was suffering from financial strain due to which it could not induct new lecturers and teachers, adding that the current budget could barely meet the expenditures of the existing staff. “The shortfall is being met by fluctuating visiting lecturers, while some teachers have been recruited on an ad hoc basis,” he added. The university is the only general university in the province which conducts more than 72 exams in different disciplines, including that of BA and BSc, imparting education to around 6,000 students.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 14^th,  2011.