KARACHI: The Sindh High Court on Monday directed the provincial authorities to frame recruitment rules for the education department after it was informed that over 7,000 government schoolteachers across the province were set to retire by December 2025.

A single-judge bench headed by Justice Salahuddin Panhwar also ordered the education department to make a policy and ensure that not a single school was closed due to a lack of teaching staff and initiate the process to fill likely vacant posts six months before the retirement of over 7,000 teachers.

At the outset of the hearing, the school education secretary and controller of examinations of the Sindh Public Service Commission (SPSC) submitted reports in the light of the court’s previous order.

The reports said that 7,128 schoolteachers were going to retire in less than two years.

SHC warns education dept against closing any school in the name of shortage of teaching staff

The bench was informed that the recent recruitment process had been stopped due to a stay order passed by the SHC. However, the SPSC was going to appoint junior schoolteachers (JSTs).

The bench said the descriptions of positions vacant reflected that requisitions had been sent by the school education department, but the recruitment rules were not framed yet.

“With regard to non-framing of rules, needless to mention that in education department when specific posts are available same cannot be filled on temporary basis, hence chief secretary Sindh, secretary S&GAD, secretary schools education shall ensure framing of rules with the consultation of law department preferably within two months and submit such compliance report,” it added.

The bench said the education department must frame a policy and ensure that not a single school was closed due to retirement of these teachers.

It asked the authorities to initiate the process to fill these posts within one month of the retirement of the teachers in question.

The bench further asked the SPSC to ensure that all requisitions sent by the school education department must be considered as priority and all such posts be filled within three months.

It directed the provincial education authorities to also implement the judgements and orders passed by the SHC in the past regarding overhauling of the public education system, transparency in recruitment process, restoration of closed schools and implementation of recommendations made by a high-powered education committee formed in 2020 on SHC’s directives.

The said committee had found serious flaws in the public education system in the province and made several recommendations including establishment of the ‘Sindh education policy oversight council’ to overcome shortcomings pointed out in the report.

Published in Dawn, March 26th, 2024