Rationalisation idea upsets teachers

The education ministry has started a programme for rationalisation of primary, middle, high, and higher secondary teachers in government schools across Punjab from September 1.

The step will be taken because of the number of online students’ data on August 15, 2021, in the 53,000 schools of the province.

According to the rules formulated for the process, the most senior teachers will be shifted to other schools within 20 km from their present school. However, technical staff, drawing, and Arabic teachers will not be included in the process.

The teachers where the number of students is less than 25 will be replaced while they will not be given an option in exchange.

All the teachers’ unions have rejected the decision. Some of the teachers’ union leaders, named Muhammad Shafiq Bhalwalia, Basharat Iqbal Raja and Akhyan Tahir Gul while talking to The Express Tribune, said that they will challenge this decision in the Rawalpindi, Multan, and Bahawalpur benches of Lahore High Court.

They were of the view that the high court has already ruled that the government cannot rationalise without consulting teachers’ organisations. The announcement of initialising the process from September 1 is unilateral and also a violation of the court orders.

They further said that transfers were made to schools up to 15 km away earlier, which has now been increased to 20 km. It will be troublesome for senior teachers to travel 20km twice daily. The union’s leaders said that female senior teachers will have to leave home at 6:30 a. and will only be able to return home after 5pm.

They questioned that how did teachers become surplus as all teachers are recruited under government policy and after the entire process of requesting applications. Instead of declaring teachers’ surplus, the government should address the shortage of classrooms and modernise computer science labs in government schools.

They demanded that the education authorities should upgrade the system and the curriculum so more children are enrolled in government schools. The teachers’ union representatives also pleaded that the government should not carry out ill-advised experiments with education.

They said that efforts for a uniform curriculum are commendable. The next step should be that now all government employees should be told to enroll their children in public schools.

The teachers will be full-scale protests, strikes, demonstrations, and sit-ins in front of the offices of education officials against the rationalisation of teachers. The transfer of senior teachers who have been teaching for 25 years to schools in more remote areas will not be tolerated under any circumstances.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 17th, 2021.