K-P lawmakers protest over 14 schools left non-functional for more than decade

Speaker questions Public Service Commission's failure to recruit staff and still seeks time to appoint teachers

The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Assembly witnessed a noisy session over the issue of 14 schools in Lower Dir having no teachers for 14 years.

Member of the Provincial Assembly, Ubaidur Rahman stated, schools have not been made functional since long, depriving students, particurly the female students, of education.

Law Minister Aftab Alam Afridi said, "The appointment of teachers is done through the Public Service Commission. A committee has been formed to appoint teachers. Work in this respect is underway and the recruitment will take time."

However, Speaker Babar Saleem Swati remarked, “What kind of Public Service Commission is this that has not been able to recruit teachers in 14 years? Even now, the commission is asking for more time.”

Read More: 11 years on, pupils await school building

CM Afridi hands out appointment letters

A ceremony under the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education was held to distribute appointment letters among newly recruited teachers who topped in exams of various subjects.

Chief Minister K-P, Sohail Afridi was the chief guest at the event. Speaking at the ceremony, he said, “All of you teachers have reached at this stage on merit and on the basis of your ability.”

“Today, people from various political backgrounds are present, proving that the culture of recommendations has ended,” Afridi noted. He added, this merit is our vision through which we will change the province’s destiny.”

The chief minister said, if any complaint is received against merit or transparency, strict action will be taken against those responsible. He lauded the role of teachers in society, saying, “Teachers hold the status of spiritual parents. The future of the province’s children is in the hands of teachers.”

Under the education department, the recruitment process for about 16,000 vacant teaching positions is ongoing. These include 10,417 male and 5,753 female teaching positions.