K-P’s investment in schools paying off, says CM Khattak

Best-performing teachers receive cheques while action initiated against poorly performing ones

PESHAWAR: The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government on Thursday awarded Rs110 million to 1,900 teachers from 240 governments high and higher schools for their outstanding performance to mark World Teachers’ Day.

The cheques were handed out at a programme organised by the K-P Elementary and Secondary Education Department at the Chief Minister House on Thursday.

K-P Chief Minister Pervez Khattak, who was overseeing the ceremony, said that it is a happy moment for them to spend the government’s money at the right place by awarding teachers who were the builders of our future generation.

“World Teachers’ Day is an opportunity to acknowledge the services rendered by teachers; they are the backbone of any education system. I am proud to note that our teachers and schools are making all possible efforts for improving the quality of teaching in the province” Khattak said.

However, he was quick to point out that the government’s action with teachers did not only swing one way, reminding that for the 1,900 teachers recognised for their good performance, punitive action was being taken against 183 teachers for their poor performance in the recent secondary school certificate result.

Khattak added that when the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf was elected into government, they found that around half of the government schools in the province lacked basic facilities, were crammed into two rooms with just two teachers for over 200 students.

Noting the dire state of education, he said that the incumbent government allocated a record budget for the sector to provide basic facilities at almost all schools across the province.

He disclosed that according to a new school policy which they were devising, each school will have at least six rooms and six teachers apart from basic facilities.

Taking a veiled swipe at political rivals, the chief minister said that past governments would use teacher hiring, posting and transfers were used as political bargaining chips, but they had stopped this process. By contrast, he noted that the new policy stipulates hiring a teacher from areas near the schools they would have to serve in and even have the option of retiring in.

Noting the shift in the narrative brought about by the incumbent government, Khattak said that previously people feared blasts and suicide attacks with terror dominating discussions everywhere, but now people talk about education and health.

Discussing the government’s plan for a unified education system in the province, he said that they are working on introducing a standard curriculum in all government and private schools and seminaries.

He added that for the government had also changed tack on seeking aid, with foreigner asked for support in teachers training rather than just asking for funds.

“Our reforms in the education sector are long lasting, we have recruited 40,000 teachers transparently through NTS (National Testing Service), and we have introduced a number of professional training for the teachers, mainly through the British Council and other development partners,” the Minister for Elementary and Secondary Education Atif Khan said.

He added that the government has invested over Rs29 billion in providing missing facilities at schools, apart from spending more than Rs4 billion on providing furniture for students and teachers.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 6^th, 2017.