Punjab govt to recruit 4,000 headteachers

The Punjab government has formally approved the recruitment of 4,000 headteachers against vacant posts across the province including in the Rawalpindi district.

The recruitment of headmasters and headmistresses will be carried out in primary, middle, high, and higher secondary schools. The government will also recruit 1,000 educators in basic pay scale (BPS) 16 and 17 as subject specialists.

The hiring process will be carried out by Punjab Public Service Commission (PPSC).

On the other hand, teachers’ representatives have rejected the decision and announced that they will challenge it in the Lahore High Court.

The teachers’ leaders including A R Kiyani, Shafiq Bhalwalia and Basharat Iqbal Raja said that all vacant seats were subjected to be filled through promotion.

Read Teachers’ written test on Sept 13

They asserted that these seats cannot be filled through direct hiring. They asked the Punjab government to refrain from carrying out experiments and instead promote senior teachers after completing their DPC.

They pointed out that direct recruitment on vacant seats will affect the teachers’ seniority.

Drinking water in schools

Punjab Education Minister Murad Raas has ordered school heads to submit test reports of drinking water available in public schools. On the basis of these reports, new filtration plants will be installed in all educational institutions.

All school heads have been issued a circular in this regard with instructions to submit reports by September 15.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 12^th, 2021.