Teacher shortage: Govt fails to fill over 21,000 posts

Education director claims 5,000 posts have been advertised across K-P.

PESHAWAR:

Although the provincial government declared an ‘education emergency’ and allocated Rs73.68 billion to education in its 2014-2015 budget, around 21,785 teaching posts remain vacant, putting a question mark on its efforts to improve the sector.

According to the education department’s Education Management Information System (EMIS) report 2013-14, the total number of sanctioned posts for teachers in government schools is 140,539 of which 90,218 are for men and 50,321 for women.

For government primary schools there are 78,199 sanctioned posts, for middle schools there are 21,492 seats, for high schools 30,085 and for higher secondary government schools 10,763 posts exist.



However, the EMIS report states the current strength of working teachers in public schools is 118,754 including 41,039 women. More than 70,000 of these are primary schoolteachers, more than 14,000 middle schoolteachers, over 24,000 high schoolteachers and over 8,000 higher secondary teachers.

A long-standing problem

The issue of shortage of teachers has been persisting for a long time due to lack of resources, an official of the elementary and secondary education department told The Express Tribune.

Requesting anonymity, the official said the government has been trying to resolve the problem but has failed to fill vacant teaching positions as yet.

“Lack of resources and favouritism are the two main reasons for vacant seats in government schools,” he said. Blaming the unending problem on political intervention, the official said some influential figures want to appoint their blue-eyed people to vacant posts and therefore they remain unfilled.

“Every political party wants to appoint their own workers to make them happy. During the previous government, a large number of schoolteachers were appointed on the basis of nepotism,” he added.

Making an effort

However, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Education Director Muhammad Rafique Khattak claimed the government is trying to fill the vacant slots. According to Khattak, 5,000 teaching posts have been advertised across the province.

Of these, more than 1,200 are for secondary schools in all 25 districts. Khattak said 113 posts have been advertised in Abbottabad, 39 in Bannu, 71 in Battagram, 81 in Buner, 20 in Charsadda, 85 in Chitral, 69 in Lower Dir, 30 in Upper Dir, three in Hangu, 130 in Haripur, 44 in Karak, 57 in Kohat, 25 in Kohistan, nine in Lakki Marwat, 33 in Malakand, 54 in Mansehra, 102 in Mardan, 60 in Nowshera, 54 in Peshawar, 66 in Swabi, 33 in Shangla, 25 in Swat, 18 in Tank, three in Torghar and 22 in DI Khan.

The director further said 3,764 teachers would be appointed in government schools on ad hoc basis in all districts. “This will solve the issue of shortage of teachers to a great extent.”

Khattak added these ad hoc teachers will be given capacity building trainings at a later stage.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 11^th, 2014.