Government axes 43,960 education jobs

The Punjab Education Department has officially abolished 43,960 teaching and non-teaching posts in 10,652 schools that were outsourced under the "Punjab Schools Reorganisation Programme" (PSRP).

The Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Finance have issued a formal notification regarding the decision.

In the first phase, 5,863 public schools were privatised, followed by another 4,789 in the second phase. The third phase, which is now underway, will see the privatization of 5,100 more schools.

The Ministry of Education has directed the chief executive officers of district education authorities across all 43 districts of Punjab, including Rawalpindi to issue district-level notifications confirming the abolition of positions in privatised schools.

The Punjab Teachers Union and other teacher organisations have strongly condemned the move and announced protests after Eid.

Union leaders, including Rana Liaqat and Muhammad Shafiq Bhalwalya, criticized the government for what they described as the "sale" of public schools.

"The government initially claimed that public school teachers would continue their duties under a public-private partnership model. However, by eliminating these positions, it has become clear that these schools have been completely privatized. Next, their valuable buildings and playgrounds will also be sold," they alleged.

Meanwhile, teachers and non-teaching staff included in the third phase of privatisation have started lobbying for transfers, seeking political recommendations from PML-N ministers and lawmakers. Some have even offered financial incentives to secure transfers before their schools are privatised.

The outgoing year turned out to be extremely "disappointing" and "educationally disastrous" for the Punjab education department in terms of controversial policies, especially privatisation. Teachers and non-teaching staff remained on continuous strikes against the government's academic policies. Record holidays in educational institutions were also recorded this year.

The year witnessed an alarming rise in the sale of government schools, mass dismissals of teachers, and rationalisation.

Abdul Rauf Kayani, the president of the Primary Elementary Secondary Teachers Association (PESTA), has also strongly condemned the privatisation of schools, calling it unconstitutional and illegal. According to him, the government is bound by the constitution to provide free education. Instead, he suggests the government should focus on reducing unnecessary expenditures, such as large vehicles, free petrol, and electricity.

The situation is indeed dire, with the number of out-of-school children already reaching 27m this year, and projected to increase to 30m by the first quarter of the new year. This alarming trend spells disaster for the education system.