CM orders urgent school furniture supply

Gandapur orders school reforms, stricter monitoring and teacher accountability

PESHAWAR:

Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Khan Gandapur has ordered the urgent provision of furniture to government schools.

He also directed officials to collect data on missing facilities in schools and ensure the immediate supply of desks and chairs.

Chairing a high-level meeting on Monday at the Chief Minister's Secretariat, he reviewed the performance, mandate, and challenges of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Education Monitoring Authority (KPEMA).Senior officials, including Secretary Education Masood Ahmad, Director Education Samina Altaf, KPEMA Director General Sohail Khan, and others, attended the meeting.

The Chief Minister emphasized that no student in government schools should have to study without proper seating arrangements. He directed senior education officials to address other essential facility shortages in schools.

He also ordered the immediate construction of boundary walls and washrooms, prioritizing girls' schools.

Assuring full government support, he pledged that all necessary resources would be provided on a priority basis to improve school infrastructure.

To enhance education quality in remote areas, the Chief Minister called for strict monitoring of teachers' attendance and the reinstatement of rewards for high-performing schools and teachers.

He mandated disciplinary action against underperforming teachers and schools, stressing that absenteeism among government school teachers would not be tolerated.

Actions based on KPEMA reports would be implemented without delay, he affirmed. He also approved a proposal to establish a dedicated wing within KPEMA for ensuring quality education in public sector schools and directed officials to formalize it for approval.

Additionally, he instructed that provincial review meetings of the authority be held monthly.

To further strengthen KPEMA, the Chief Minister directed the finance department to provide the required funds for modern gadgets and the digitization of all monitoring processes.

Officials briefed the meeting that every government school in the province is inspected at least once a month. The province has a total of 34,724 government schools, including 28,372 in settled districts and 6,397 in merged districts.

Additionally, 2,174 girls' community schools and 1,074 double-shift schools are also under monitoring. Officials reported that monthly monitoring and annual school censuses are conducted using an Android app, ensuring real-time uploads.

Reports and analytics are made available online for all stakeholders. Officials further noted a significant reduction in teacher absenteeism, with rates dropping from 23% to 14% in settled districts and from 27% to 23% in merged districts.

The Chief Minister directed further efforts to reduce absenteeism to zero. To enhance transparency and reduce human intervention, KPEMA launched the Online Action Information Management System last year.

Through this system, 27,856 actions have been reported by KPEMA, while district education officers have taken 11,503 actions, resulting in fines totaling Rs. 12 million.

Additionally, KPEMA's data collection on textbook requirements led to cost savings of Rs. 7 billion for the 2024-25 academic year.

The Chief Minister reiterated the government's commitment to ensuring quality education for all students and pledged continued efforts to improve public schooling across the province.