The colleges of Sindh province are facing an acute shortage of teachers and are unable to appoint such professionals due to the suspension of the provincial public service commission on the Sindh High Court's orders.
At least 1,500 teachers are required to continue the upcoming academic year which is expected to commence in a couple of months. Owing to the shortage of college teachers, the Sindh government's education department has decided to recruit at least 1,500 college teachers as interns for a period of only seven months.
The monthly stipends for the interns will be Rs.50,000 and they will not be treated as contractual employees. The decision to recruit will be taken in the Sindh cabinet meeting to be held on November 4.
"We have around 340 colleges in Sindh and we need at least 1,500 teachers for different subjects," confirmed Sindh Education Minister Syed Sardar Ali Shah.
Speaking to The Express Tribune, Shah said that it is the first time the Sindh education department will recruit interns to smoothly run the affairs of the academic year. "We are going to recruit interns, not the contractual teachers," he clarified. "They won't be transferred to any other place," he added.
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Replying to a question, he confirmed that due to the suspension of the SPSC, there was the only option left for his department. "This will also be beneficial for the interns to get this experience and make their profile for future endeavours," he added.
The department has decided to recruit interns for seven months through a third party or to constitute a committee comprising of retired professors. If decided by the Sindh cabinet, the committee might arrange a walk-in interview method subject-wise to speedily complete the process.
The interns, if approved by the cabinet, will be selected according to their district domiciles. Sources told The Express Tribune that the education department will also recruit interns for secondary schools to fill the gap of shortage of teachers.
"Yes, the proposal is under consideration, but first when need to recruit interns for colleges," Shah said.
Education experts said that though the idea to provide an opportunity to fresh graduates was great, but the government was being compelled to use new methods to fill the gap left due to the lack of regular appointments.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 31st, 2021.
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