Promotion to be based on teachers’ qualification

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Promotion to be based on teachers’ qualification
PESHAWAR, July 6: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government is likely to introduce a new service structure for teachers soon.
This had been a longstanding demand of teachers of government schools serving in the same grade for decades, an official of the elementary and secondary education department told Dawn.

Under the new service structure, teachers who improve their academic qualification will get more opportunities of promotion to the next grade. Such incentives are missing in the current service structure for school teachers.

The new policy would pave the way for promotion of a primary school teacher even to become headmaster of a high school in Grade 18 if he attained the required qualification, the official said.

In the new policy, 50 per cent quota of CT has been reserved for primary school teachers on the basis of seniority-cum-fitness. The criteria for a primary school teacher to become CT is that he should have at least five years service with the required professional qualification in the relevant field. The remaining 50 per cent CT would be recruited directly, the official said.

Similarly, 80 per cent of DM, PET, TT and AT posts will be filled directly and the rest through promotion of primary school teachers.

In the present service structure, teachers of different cadres in BPS 9, including certified teacher (CT), drawing master (DM), physical education teacher (PET), theology teacher (TT) and Arabic teacher (AT), are appointed directly.

Likewise, the official said 80 per cent posts of secondary school teacher (SST) in Grade 16 would be filled by promoting CT and 20 per cent SST would be appointed directly. Twenty per cent quota has also been reserved for DM, PET, TT and AT for promotion to SST.

Only 20 per cent of headmasters in high schools will be appointed directly and 80 per cent SST would be promoted to the headmaster’s post.

Raja Saad Khan, director of the Education Sector Reform Unit, told Dawn that earlier appointment of a primary school teacher was based only on academic qualification but now the criteria would be changed.

“For direct recruitment, 60 marks will be awarded for academic qualification and 40 marks will be given on the basis of a screening test to be conducted by the Education Testing and Evaluation

Promotion to be based on teachers’ qualification

Authority,” he maintained.

The new service structure, according to Raja Saeed, is aimed at attracting talented people to the teaching profession.

“Promotion to next grade will encourage teachers to improve their qualification,” said Hakeemullah Khan, additional director of the elementary and secondary education department. The new policy would prove rewarding for the entire teaching community, in particular for the 75,000 primary school teachers who earlier could not be promoted to next grade, he said.

Waris Khan Khalil, chief of the Malgary Ustazan, a teachers’ association affiliated with the Awami National Party, and general secretary Amjid Ali, when contacted, welcomed the new policy.Dawn