More than 100,000 Teachers Shortage in Punjab Schools

The number of unfilled positions for primary educators in government schools throughout Punjab has surged by 45,000, reaching 115,000, a considerable increase from the previous count of 70,000.

Per a recent report, more than 9,000 primary educational institutions in the province are grappling with a severe scarcity of instructors. These schools typically have no more than two to three teachers each. Moreover, the deficit of Primary School Teachers (PST) in Lahore alone has exceeded 1,500.

Consequently, teachers are encountering obstacles in obtaining transfers to alternative institutions. Additionally, female educators are compelled to commute long distances to teach students, a situation that has persisted for over five years.

It’s noteworthy that under the previous administration, the Punjab Public Service Commission (PPSC) was entrusted with evaluating the recruitment of 14,000 instructors. However, due to a change in government, the teacher recruitment process was suspended. Furthermore, there’s an urgent need to hire 30,000 Instructional Support Teams (ISTs) for middle schools across the province, along with more than 15,000 Student Success Teams (SSTs) for higher secondary institutions.

Officials project that an additional 30,000 teachers will retire by 2027. The education department has cautioned that without the recruitment of new educators, the education system could face significant disruptions within the next three years.