PESHAWAR: Around 200 teachers of higher education department posted at different government degree colleges in parts of the province draw salaries without taking classes as they have been posted irrationally and on wrong positions, according to documents.

According to official data, another 679 teachers in government colleges were not meeting the required credit hours.

The department has fixed two credit hours per day according to its policy but these teachers have only one credit hour.

The directorate of higher education has notified workload of each teacher that is 12 credit hours in a week while relaxation has been made of three credit hours for the faculty assigned other duties including coordinator, controller, examiners and chief proctors in the respective colleges.

HED secretary says he is working to rationalise postings

On the other hand, the irrational posting and transfers of has shifted the burden to 808 teachers serving in different colleges, who are forced to attend additional classes in their respective colleges due to shortage of staffers.

The data shows that six professors in BPS-20 posted in different colleges, 33 associate professors in BPS-19, 61 assistant professors in BPS-18 and 85 lecturers in BPS-17 are not attending classes.

The teachers, who attend half of their classes, include 31 professors in BPS-20, 195 associate professors in BPS-19, 163 assistant professors in BPS-18 and 285 lecturers in BPS-17.

The teachers, who are overburdened and attend additional classes beyond their capacity, include 16 professors in BPS-20, 84 associate professors in BPS-19, 238 assistant professors in BPS-18 and 270 lecturers in BPS-17.

Higher Education Secretary Arshed Khan told Dawn that he was working on rationalising the posting of teachers in government colleges in the larger interest of students.

He said that he had compiled data of the students enrolled in colleges and teachers working there.

A few days back, the secretary said, keeping in view the available data he turned down the proposal to transfer two teachers of a subject to a government college as two teachers were already teaching 88 students there.

He said that no teacher was available for 400 students in a government college in Karak. “I directed the officials concerned to immediately post at least three teachers for those students, who have no teacher to teach them,” he added.

Pertaining to the rationalisation of teachers-students ratio, Mr Khan said that he had started interviewing principals of government colleges on daily basis and was obtaining information about their requirement for teachers and other facilities.

Sources told Dawn that actually the minister and secretaries of higher education were responsible for irrationality in the transfer of teachers.

“For instance, if there is a vacant seat for Urdu teacher in BPS-19 in a government college, which is located in urban area or important city like Peshawar, HED orders posting of a mathematics teacher there in the same grade,” they added.

However, after posting on the wrong position, the mathematics teacher couldn’t teach Urdu because in colleges only a teacher specialised in subject could teach the same subject. “Wrong posting can be managed at school level but it is not possible in higher education institutions,” they added.

Sources said that teachers were using their contacts with the lawmakers, ministers and high authorities to get posting on wrong positions. They added that such teachers were unable to teach in colleges.

They said that principals of government degree colleges had also reservations over wrong postings as it caused academic losses to students.

Published in Dawn, April 22nd, 2024