Education dept abolishes special allowance amid crisis

In the midst of an acute financial crisis, the Education Department has implemented significant changes, including the immediate abolition of the Schools Inspection Special Allowance for Assistant Education Officers.

The department has also approved a major restructuring plan, reassigning more than half of the current Assistant Education Officers from administrative roles to teaching positions in government schools.

Starting in November, Assistant Education Officers will no longer receive their special allowance, which ranged from Rs25,000 to Rs30,000 per month for school inspections. This decision has sparked discontent among the officers, as the allowance previously totalled millions of rupees across the province.

As a result of this restructuring, these officers, initially recruited for monitoring schools, will now be reassigned as teachers.

Additionally, there are significant changes planned for the curriculum. Beginning in the 2025 academic year, middle school students will no longer study geography and history in English. Instead, these subjects will be taught in Urdu. The current academic year will be the last for English medium instruction in these subjects, with the new policy taking effect on April 1, 2025.