Criterion for teachers hiring relaxed

33 primary schools to be upgraded this year

QUETTA:

The Balochistan cabinet has relaxed the procedure for recruitment of teachers as one time relaxation to address the shortage of teaching staff in the province.

This was revealed by Secretary Secondary Education Abdul Rauf Baloch while addressing the 22nd Local Education Group meeting on Wednesday.

Baloch said that there is a clear difference between the number of middle and primary schools in the province as there is one middle school for eight primary schools. He said that to bridge this gap steps were being taken to upgrade 33 primary schools to middle and 66 middle schools to high schools level this fiscal year.

A plan to upgrade 200 primary schools to middle school level had also been approved in PSDP for the financial year 2021-22.

He said that the education department is committed to implementing the Balochistan Education Sector Plan 2020-25 as the promotion of education is the topmost priority of the current government.

At the meeting, all stakeholders, officials of the department, development partners, and other officials participated in a large number.

Baloch said that the sector plan has rightly identified learning and access as the key policy focus areas, adding that about one million children in the province are enrolled in public schools.

At the meeting stakeholders mentioned that the education group has pivotal importance in policymaking and ideas sharing.

The meeting reviewed the Education Sector Plan 2020-2025, its implementation and progress, promotion of non-formal education, progress and review of ASPIRE project, Education Support Program Phase II by UNICEF, ECW project by the BRSP and the Development Foundation, the selection of the coordinating agency by the Global Partnership for Education and other important initiatives related to the ongoing education program in the province.

Baloch noted that the government of Balochistan values ​​the initiatives of all relevant stakeholders and development partners that are rendering their committed support in promotion of education sector in the province.

He further said that in connection with single uniform national curriculum in the province, textbooks have been distributed across the province, adding that adequate funds have been earmarked in collaboration with UNICEF to further enhance the skills of teachers in the province.

He said that new teachers are being recruited after the cabinet decision to relax the recruitment process and competency training will be imparted after the completion of recruitment process in later stages. He added this initiative will help reactivate inactive schools across the province.

At the end of the meeting, the secretary extended special thanks to all the stakeholders including Global Partnership for Education, European Union, World Bank, JICA, ECW and UNICEF.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 14^th, 2022.