School teachers across Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa will soon require a licence to continue teaching, as part of the government’s efforts to ensure high educational standards, the province’s Department of Elementary and Secondary Education said on Tuesday.

Last year, Sindh became the first province to introduce a teaching licence test under its teaching licence policy — introduced in 2023 — in a bid to ensure a higher calibre of educators in schools.

According to a notification issued by the department, a copy of which is available with Dawn.com, “only registered and licensed teachers will be authorised to teach at schools”, for which the education department will set up a regulatory body.

The regulatory body will be responsible for issuing licences, as well as renewing them based on the teachers’ performance, the notification said.

The establishment of the licensing regulatory body aims to “improve the quality of education”, enhance student learning outcomes, by ensuring that only “licensed and professionally qualified” teachers are allowed to teach at schools.

The 15-member body will oversee the development and implementation of a standardised licensing framework, as well as develop robust teaching standards via routine performance evaluations and reviews.

The education department has allocated a budget of Rs200 million for the establishment of the regulatory body.

KP’s education system has been facing persistent challenges. In November last year, over 5,200 community-school teachers in remote girls’ schools went without pay for eight months, disrupting the education of 276,000 students last year.

This was followed by textbook shortages at the start of the new academic year, leaving students and teachers without essential materials. More recently, 15 principals were suspended after poor SSC exam results, underscoring gaps in school leadership and oversight.

According to the District Education Performance Index (DEPIx) Report 2020-23 released by the Planning Commission, “Pakistan’s national average score in the DEPIx is 53.46, placing the country in the “low” performance category.