PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has ignored the provincial Public Service Commission’s advice against the regularisation of adhoc teachers and thus, adversely affecting the overall performance of educational institutions.

In a fresh report, which was tabled in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly a few weeks ago, the PSC had suggested that “adhoc or contract appointments may either be not made or if made, may not be regularised as it impacts the education system negatively.”

The report, a copy of which is available with Dawn, said the services of adhoc employees would not be regularised by the departments through any act or ordinance in line with the Supreme Court judgment in a civil appeal.

However, on May 12 this year, the provincial government regularised 241 adhoc lecturers through the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Regularisation of Services of Adhoc Lecturers Act, 2014.

These lecturers were appointed to different colleges of the province in 2010 on adhoc basis.

A senior official of the higher education department told Dawn that the lecturers appointed on the PSC recommendations were academically and administratively far better than those first appointed on adhoc basis and then regularised.

After vacant posts are advertised and applications for them come in, the PSC first takes written examinations of the candidates and then calls the qualified candidates for interview.

Thereafter, it recommends selected candidates for appointment by the relevant department(s).

There is no condition of written examination and interview for the appointment of adhoc lecturers, which are made on the basis of academic record by a committee formed by the respective departments.

The departments, especially those dealing with the healthcare, higher education and elementary and secondary education, make adhoc appointments.

Senior professors of colleges are not happy with the frequent regularisation of adhoc lecturers.

A senior academician told Dawn that after every three or four years, the government regularised a bulk of adhoc lecturers at the cost of education standard.

He said often, lecturers, who didn’t qualify the PSC test and interview, were appointed on adhoc basis.

“If adhoc lecturers are talented, they will never work on adhoc basis for years and instead, they will sit the PSC examination for a regular job,” he said.

The academician said during struggle for regularisation of their services, adhoc lecturers developed contacts with political leaders, particularly those of the ruling parties, and maneuvered to bring a bill in the assembly.

“Such lecturers remain in contact with political parties throughout their career and use this relationship for personnel benefits,” he said.

When contacted, provincial higher education minister Mushtaq Ahmad Ghani justified the regularisation of adhoc lecturers saying the PSC took years to appoint teachers.

“At the moment, if I need a lecturer in a college and send a request to the PSC, it will take three years for the appointment. In such situation, the department is left with no option but to run colleges through adhoc lecturers,” he said.

The minister said currently, 1,300 vacancies of lecturers lied vacant in different colleges and the PSC would take years to conduct tests and interviews to fill them.

The minister said if the PSC recommended appointment of lecturers on time, then there would be no need to appoint teachers on adhoc basis.

Published in Dawn, May 18th, 2014