ISLAMABAD: Being a schoolteacher is no bed of roses. Mansoor Ahmed is all too familiar with the extra work that the government makes its teachers do. A teacher at the Government High School in Dera Shamas, Rahimyar Khan, he recounts how, ahead of the elections, he and his fellow instructors are made to go door-to-door to collect voter information.

“We have to keep going back, day after day and ensure that we haven’t missed anyone. Then there is pressure from local landlords and other influential individuals, who want us to register bogus voters.”

The election themselves are a nightmarish experience. “We are allocated duties in places that are usually very far from our homes, usually 40 or 50 kilometers. Standing in queue for hours waiting to receive election materials, ferrying the sensitive material to and from the polling station – usually without any provision for transport – and, of course, facing the wrath of political parties and activists on polling day; these are just some of my experiences with election duty,” the disgruntled teacher says.

Ahmed’s story is not unique. Schoolteachers are the single largest workforce in the country, according to the latest study by education campaigners Alif Ailaan, numbering around 1.4 million. More than half of these work at government schools. One of the main issues faced by such teachers is the allocation of non-academic duties that force them to divert attention away from the classroom.

New report highlights lack of timely delivery of textbooks, language issues, no teachers’ training as major stumbling blocks

Initiatives such as anti-dengue drives or polio vaccination campaigns are also led by teachers at the local level. “I don’t understand what teachers have to do with these issues; this is the health department’s job,” he complains.

Most government schoolteachers do not get compensatory holidays for weekends spent in the service of the provincial government. “We are asked to oversee health-related events on most Sundays. It could just as easily be trained medical staff from the government hospital across road,” he says.

In ‘The Voice of Teachers: Learning from Teachers Across Pakistan’, Alif Ailaan and SAHE’s research team estimates that most government schoolteachers spend a quarter of the academic year involved in non-teaching activities.

“Government teachers are frequently called upon to perform duties that require the deployment of personnel in large numbers. As a result, many teachers are assigned tasks that take them away from the classroom or eat into the time they would otherwise use to plan lessons or mark papers,” the report states.

The report notes that the controversy surrounding the use of school resources and teachers as polling officers during the 2013 general elections brought this problematic issue to the public’s attention

The report said that across the board, an overwhelming majority of government school teachers complain about being assigned non-teaching duties.

Textbook delivery

Over the last several years, all provinces have introduced the system of providing free textbooks to government schools, but the delivery of textbooks to students is often delayed, adding to the difficulties of both teachers and students in completing the coursework on time.

The report states that most of the teachers surveyed reported that textbooks were generally delivered on time, but there are dramatic differences between provinces.

“In KP, only 12 per cent of teachers reported delays, whereas in Balochistan, the figure is as high as 82 per cent. In Sindh, delays are reported by 22 per cent teachers while in Punjab, at least 35 per cent of teachers still report that books are not delivered on time,” the report claims.

Language Issues

The report also notes that most teachers complained about teaching English and Urdu to students for whom neither language is their mother tongue. The current policy, the report says, is oversimplified and adds to the difficulties of teachers and learners. Teachers have opposed the use of English as the medium of instruction, particularly in the early years of schooling, citing their students’ lack od familiarity with the language.

“As a result, in many cases teacher is required to translate twice, first from English to Urdu and then from Urdu to local language, to communicate effectively with students,” the report says. It also acknowledges that many teachers admit they don’t possess the skills to teach English, asserting that their qualifications and skills should be considered before introducing such polices.

Mubarik Ali, who teaches at the Government Primary School Galla in Abbottabad, told Dawn that in KPK, students are forced to learn Mathematics and Science in Urdu from the third grade.

“But, this year, without any prior planning or training of teachers, the government changed the medium of instruction for Science and Maths to English for grades four and five. We are not trained to teach these two subjects in English,” he said.

Aneela Parween, a teacher at the Government Girls High School in Gharo, Thatta, told Dawn that they had to contend with three different languages; Urdu, English and Sindhi. “It is not easy for students to keep up and makes life very hard for teachers as well,” she said.

Published in Dawn, November 21st, 2014