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The Punjab government has unveiled a significant initiative aimed at tackling the shortage of teaching staff by announcing plans to recruit 30,000 visiting teachers for schools in the initial phase.
The School Education Department (SED) in the province is currently facing a shortfall of 115,000 teachers, with the last major recruitment of schoolteachers taking place in 2018 under the PML-N government. During the tenure of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) party, around 400 to 500 appointments were made, primarily focusing on two districts: Murree and Mianwali.
The PTI government introduced a hiring process similar to that of the Punjab Public Service Commission (PPSC), alongside introducing College Teaching Interns (CTIs) to address vacancies in colleges. Recent graduates were eligible to apply for CTI positions, with a monthly salary of Rs25,000.
Sources within the SED indicate that the current government is contemplating the recruitment of 30,000 schoolteachers on a visiting basis, with payment based on the number of lectures delivered. To support this initiative, the government intends to allocate additional funds to school councils to cover the salaries of visiting teachers. Furthermore, these councils will be tasked with generating funds to address other school-related expenses.
Rana Liaqat, the General Secretary of the Punjab Teachers Union (PTU), has urged the government to initiate permanent recruitment in the school department to effectively address the teacher shortage. Liaqat emphasized that the most viable solution to alleviate the scarcity of teaching staff is through permanent recruitment. The PTU General Secretary expressed concerns about the potential challenges that hiring visiting teachers could pose to schools.