Lahore:
About 65 percent permanent positions of government school teachers over Punjab are unemployed.
The stills include thousands in class 17 to 20, among them a large number of principals and principal as well as senior teachers.
An official said the percentage of unemployed permanent positions had risen to 65 mainly due to the lack of timely promotion of the serving teachers.
According to sources in the sector, government schools are facing the entire province of a lack of about 100,000 teachers, creating problems for students as well as teachers.
In the midst of the sustained lack of infrastructure and adequate facilities, Punjab Scholl Education Department runs its operations by appointing officials on the ad hoc base to fill out available permanent positions.
The situation is worse in the village schools and in South Punjab, where the students also do not have access to private teaching centers to cover their syllabus.
The lists of vacant permanent positions include sciences and computer teachings, as well as principals that have crucial administrative responsibility in their schools.
Representatives of teachers’ unions have also raised the issue during their protests in recent months and demanded the appointment of teachers on a permanent basis. They said that unavailability of regular officials had affected the academic activities. The teachers had demanded that the provincial government fill out the vacant permanent positions before the end of the ongoing summer vaccinations.
A senior official in the school education department said that the reason for the positions that are unemployed was that the government did not promote teachers. The official then said a percentage of unemployed permanent positions in government schools were more than 65 percent.
The official said that primary, middle, high and higher colleges in all districts had been affected by the problem. Then the case had serious consequences for the high and higher colleges, where the students were completely dependent on the school teachers to prepare for their exams.
As many as 3,661 permanent pots of class 17 principals are also vacant, while the total number of positions assigned is 5,067. In the 18th grade, 500 of the total 1,673 positions of the principal are unemployed. Similarly, 37 percent of positions as principal and principal of class 19 are unemployed. In addition, 303 positions in class 20 are also unemployed in schools. The total number of permanent positions in the grade throughout the province is 404.
In the category of senior school teachers in class 19, approx. 66 percent of positions unemployed along with 55 in class 18, the official added.
Punjab Teachers Union -General Secretary Rana Liaqat Ali said there was disappointment among the teachers because they were not promoted and appointed on a permanent basis, which was their right.
He said timely campaigns were important to help raise the standard of education.
He said the government should immediately fill the vacant permanent positions.
He said a large number of teachers were retired while waiting for the campaigns, which several more were planned to retire in the coming months in all districts.
