Teachers boycott process for appointing headmasters

Leaders of teachers' associations have declared the boycott by senior teachers a success.

RAWALPINDI:

A total of 17,854 teachers have submitted online applications for 5,297 vacant positions of headmasters, headmistresses, and Principals in government high and higher secondary schools across Punjab.

However, senior teachers across all 42 districts of Punjab have rejected the testing requirement and opted not to apply.

These appointments come after the education department made it mandatory for applicants to undergo a test and interview as part of the selection process.

According to sources in the education department, around 90 per cent of senior male and female teachers have boycotted the process, removing themselves from the race for these leadership roles. In contrast, most of the applications received are from junior-scale teachers.

Leaders of teachers' associations, including Shahid Mubarak, Basharat Iqbal Raja, and Shafiq Bhalowalia, have declared the boycott by senior teachers a success.

Official data reveals that there are 9,009 sanctioned posts for Headmasters, Headmistresses, and Principals in public schools across Punjab, of which 5,297 are vacant and 3,712 are currently filled.

In the category of qaris and band masters, there are 588 sanctioned positions in government schools. Only 27 of these are filled, leaving 561 vacant.

The situation is similar at other school levels. In primary schools, 222,940 teaching posts have been approved, with 64,258 positions currently vacant and 165,114 filled. In middle schools, out of 113,080 sanctioned posts, 28,349 are vacant, while 102,745 are filled.

High schools have 59,030 approved teaching positions, of which 15,533 remain vacant and 43,497 are filled. In higher secondary schools, 11,496 teaching positions are sanctioned, but 8,976 are vacant, and only 2,520 are filled.