Shanila Parveen, Principal and QAT member, leading a class at this AKF-supported School Improvement Programme (SIP) school.
The Punjab government has taken a significant step to address the shortage of teaching staff by announcing the recruitment of 30,000 visiting teachers for schools in the first phase.
The School Education Department (SED) in the province is grappling with a shortage of 115,000 teachers. The last major recruitment of schoolteachers occurred in 2018 under the PML-N government.
During the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf’s tenure, approximately 400 to 500 appointments were made, primarily in two districts: Murree and Mianwali.
The PTI government introduced a hiring process similar to that of the Punjab Public Service Commission (PPSC).
The PTI government also introduced College Teaching Interns (CTIs) to fill the vacancies in colleges and the current administration was also advised to continue this initiative to address the shortage. Recent graduates were eligible to apply for CTI positions, receiving a monthly salary of Rs25,000.
According to SED sources, the current government is considering hiring 30,000 schoolteachers on a visiting basis. They will be paid based on the number of lectures delivered.
The government plans to allocate extra funds to school councils to cover the salaries of visiting teachers. Furthermore, the councils will be responsible for generating funds to address other school expenses.
Rana Liaqat, the General Secretary of the Punjab Teachers Union (PTU), urged the government to begin permanent recruitment in the school department to address the shortage of teachers.
According to him, the only viable solution to address the teaching staff shortage is to recruit teachers on a permanent basis. The PTU General Secretary expressed his concerns regarding the problems hiring visiting teachers would create for schools.
