Education first: Lucrative jobs draw female teachers to city’s outskirts

Teachers are provided pick-and-drop services and competitive salaries.

PESHAWAR: Employment opportunities for educated women have increased in rural as well as urban locales with the sharp spike in the number of private educational institutes on the outskirts of the provincial capital.

Some of the vacant posts at these institutes are filled by women from the same vicinity, but a majority of the female staff members in rural areas commute from the main city. Union councils Mattani, Maryamzai and Adezai have dozens of private educational institutes where most of the female teachers come from urban localities.

With the new academic session right around the corner, owners of these schools have advertised vacancies, offering women pick-and-drop facilities along with competitive salaries. The school owners maintain the reason for advertising these posts is a shortage of qualified women in rural areas.

One school owner said some are wary of travelling the distance, but a majority of them do not mind, especially with the availability of pick-and-drop services.

Naeem Khan*, a school owner, said they offer higher secondary education for girls and hence need women to teach. “Male teachers cannot teach girls studying in high schools since our culture does not allow it,” he said, requesting his real name not be shared.

“We have been contacted by a number of educated women but keeping in mind the standard of education at our school we will hire those who have a bachelor’s degree at least,” said Khan. He said his school has co-education up till 5th grade at a separate section where boys older than 12 years are prohibited.

Shabana* has been teaching for the last four years at a school in one of the rural union councils. She said the most important factor to consider while taking up the job was the commute from the city. “What else do you need when they offer you at least Rs9,000 along with pick-and-drop services,” she asked rhetorically.

Another boon was that her children study at the school free of cost, added Shabana. She also said she has never been threatened in the four years she has been commuting from Yakatoot. Nonetheless, she was not keen on divulging her name.

(*Names have been changed to protect identities) 

Published in The Express Tribune, April 29^th, 2014.