LAHORE: In a recent development, the Punjab government made a big announcement about reinstating thousands of District Teacher Educators (DTEs) after an eight-year hiatus.
The secretary of schools of education issued directives to restore thousands of DTEs in the education sector in Punjab. There are at present 4,560 DTEs working as teachers in the province with 113 in Lahore.
It is important to note that the DTE program was withdrawn by the Punjab government back in 2017, and the teachers were posted to different schools as regular teachers.
However, with their reinstatement, the DTEs will now resume their important role of training teachers across the province, which is expected to have a positive impact on the quality of education.
The rejuvenation of DTEs is also important in the backdrop of the recent reforms in the education sector in Punjab. For example, in June 2024, the Punjab government finally lifted the ban on the transfer of teachers, which has been a long-cherished demand for teachers in the province.
However, the process of applying for transfers has been made conditional to be submitted online by teachers along with a seniority number. This has brought forth unrest among female teachers.
They have to visit the office to get their seniority number, and they raised this issue of removal as well. Teachers have a three-year service period that has to be completed here at the school to move elsewhere. Therefore, those who have less tenure experience will not be qualified too. These situations have thrown open a debate about the efficiency of the policy of transfer and the desirability of a procedure that is less cumbersome yet more participative.
Shortage of Teaching Staff
The problem of teacher transfer is inescapably connected with wider problems afflicting the province’s education sector. A report by CPDI-Pakistan, states that there is a shortfall of 81,466 teachers as there are 433,134 sanctioned posts against such seats.
This shortage is specifically acute in some districts; for instance, in the district of Jhelum, the shortage of teachers stands at 39%. The report also highlights how the recruitment of teachers has been in decline over the years. The year 2020 saw a drop of 19.4 percent in elementary teacher strength within a calendar year.
The Punjab government has dismissed thousands of school teachers for failing to produce their educational certificates as proof of qualification for the job.
More than 14,000 secondary school teachers in Punjab who were recruited more than ten years ago are still awaiting the regularization of their services.
