HARIPUR: More than 1,000 posts of different cadres of teachers have been lying vacant in the government schools in Haripur district, according to sources.

They said that about 150 schools in the district were having only one teacher, who was supposed to teach all the subjects to five classes.

They said that during a recent exercise of counting the total number of vacant posts of teachers in government schools, it was noticed that there were 433 vacant posts of male primary school teachers, senior primary school teachers and primary school head teachers in all the seven circles of the district.

Sources said that 288 post of male PST were vacant in the district. They said that 145 posts of SPST and PSHT were also vacant. Of 533 primary schools for boys in district, 140 had a single teacher each, they added.

Sources said that 346 posts of teachers were vacant in 477 primary schools for girls while 112 posts of BPS-15 of different cadres of female teachers including certified teacher, physical education teacher, drawing master, Arabic teacher, theology teacher and Qaria of BPS-12 were also vacant.

About 150 schools in district have lone teacher each

Sources said that 22 posts of subject specialists were vacant in the higher secondary schools in the district. They said that more than 24 primary schools for girls in remote areas had a lone teacher each.

“Vacant posts of teachers, especially in primary schools, have exposed the PTI’s slogan of education emergency in the province,” said Sajjad Khan, district general secretary of PML-N and member tehsil council.

A retired teacher said that shortage of teachers was affecting the government’s enrolment drive. “How a single teacher can teach four to eight subjects to 50 to 120 students at a time,” he questioned.

When approached for comments the District Officer male Umar Khan Kundi was out of office however one of his senior sub ordinate requesting not to be named confirmed that information regarding vacant posts. But he claimed that a summery has been sent to Director E&SE Peshawar, with recommendation of immediate hiring on 288 pots of PST male and the process was likely to start by the end of current month.

Samina Altaf Shah, the district education officer, when contacted, said that reason behind vacant posts of 346 teachers in primary schools for girls was bifurcation of 124 schools where 287 posts were already vacant.

About 112 vacant posts of teachers of BPS-15 and 22 posts of SST, she said that early retirement of teachers and promotion to next scales rendered those posts vacant that would be filled within few months as the process was already started. Ms Shah said that bifurcation increased number of primary schools from 353 to 477 in the district. She nine primary schools for girls in the district were merged with the nearest ones owing to lesser number of students.

Published in Dawn, October 18th, 2017