Monetised exits: Golden handshake in the works for govt school teachers

Politicians criticise arming teachers, a move which education minister denies.

PESHAWAR:

The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) government is planning to remove at least 50% of public school teachers over poor performance, but not before giving them a golden handshake.

Additional Secretary for Education Qaiser Alam told The Express Tribune the golden handshake is among the options under consideration to improve the standard of education in government-run schools.

“Under this policy, teachers will be able to retire in an honourable manner,” he added.



According to official data, the provincial government has spent Rs93 billion on the education department which has 125,000 teachers on its payroll. However, this has not brought the performance of government schools at par with private schools.

As a result, the current government is chalking out a strategy to separate the grain from the chaff and only induct qualified and dedicated personnel as teachers at state-run institutes.

Through the NTS

Under the new plan, all teachers currently employed by the department will be expected to take the National Testing Services (NTS) exam which will be arranged at a district level. This will serve as a litmus test whereby the government can select the right people for the right posts.

According to insiders, teachers will be expected to score at least 50% in the test. If they do not make the cut, they will be given a chance to seek retirement under the golden handshake policy, as per still unconfirmed plans.

Alam said a series of discussions and consultations regarding the plans in the education department are under way. However, the final decision will be taken by the K-P cabinet once the approval of PTI Chairman Imran Khan has been sought.

Farewell to arms

Political parties have voiced reservations over arming school teachers; a decision the provincial government first announced and later took a U-turn on.

Earlier, on Wednesday, Minister for Elementary and Secondary Education Muhammad Atif Khan denied that the government had allowed teachers to carry weapons.  However, twice in January Minister for Information Mushtaq Ghani had been quoted as saying teachers would be allowed to carry licenced permits to school, where parent-teacher councils would monitor their use.

Even after the rebuttal, members of various political parties are shocked to find this was proposed as a strategy to enhance security at schools. They are of the view that weaponising schools will strengthen the existing gun culture in the province. According to political leaders, it is time to bid farewell to arms and keep children away from them.

“I don’t know how a child will be able to get education with an AK-47 in his teacher’s hands,” Awami National Party (ANP) Senator Baz Muhammad Khan said.

Baz Muhammad urged the K-P government to devise a strategy to overcome militancy rather than encourage every citizen to carry arms.  “This will negatively impact the minds of young schoolchildren,” he said. “I want children to hold pens rather than brandish guns.”

Former K-P chief minister and Jamiat Ulema Islam (JUI-F) MPA Akram Khan Durrani pressed the government to consult all political parties before taking any further steps.

“People with nefarious minds could obtain arms licences and wreak havoc,” he said. “The government, and not its citizens, is responsible for protecting the public.”

Meanwhile, Qaumi Watan Party’s (QWP) Anisa Zeb Tahirkhili urged the government to focus on security of schools and issue licences to security guards. “Giving teachers guns will undermine the fact that a pen is mightier than a sword,” Tahirkhili said.

Setting the record straight

When asked, former minister of health Shaukat Yousafzai said the decision was being portrayed in a negative light. The provincial government has not allowed teachers to carry guns. However, he added that teachers will be issued licences if they approach the government.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 24^th, 2015.