KARACHI, May 30: A majority of the government-run colleges are facing shortage of teachers.

About 500 sanctioned posts of teachers have been lying vacant in various city colleges, while there is a need for creating another about 400 posts of teachers to meet the requirements of the old and recently-established colleges where new sections have also been introduced during the last few years.

The faculty of the Government Adamjee Science College has approached the authorities to shift the degree section of the college to the Government Islamia Science College owing to lack of space, faculty and classrooms.

A majority of the nationalised cadre teachers are reaching the age of retirement, but fresh appointments are yet to be made.

There are about 2,500 teachers in 90 colleges, excluding the new institutions, against a sanctioned strength of about 3,000 teachers.

Sources in the education department said about 800 posts of teachers in the colleges have been lying vacant either due to retirement of teachers or for want of new SNEs.

About nine colleges established recently are suffering as no new posts have been sanctioned.

An official of the education department said that since the procedure for recruitment was lengthy, there was at present no improvement in the situation.

However, in some of the colleges teachers are under-utilized.

According to a city government report prepared last year, a maximum number of 91 teachers are available at the Sir Syed Girls College.

The other colleges, along with the number of teachers are: St Joseph’s College for Women (58), D.J. Science College (64), Government College for Women, Frere Road (83), PECHS College for Women (86), Khatoon-i-Pakistan College (85), Islamia Science College (53), College of Home Economics (68), Gulshan-i-Iqbal College (62), Abdullah Girls College (62), Government College for Men, Nazimabad (59) and APWA Girls College (67).

However, as a stop-gap arrangement, some of the colleges have engaged teachers on contract basis and these teachers are paid monthly payment.

According to EDO Colleges of the City Government Karachi, Prof. Raees Alvi, there was a need for at least 700 more lecturers to overcome the shortage of teachers in colleges.

The matter has also been brought to the notice of higher authorities and it is hoped that the Sindh government and the finance department would move swiftly and new posts would be sanctioned at the earliest.—PPI