LAHORE: The Punjab government has extended the service of around 45,000 school teacher interns (STIs) until May 31, 2027 to meet the shortage of teachers in public schools.
According to a School Education Department notification, the services of already engaged STIs may be continued through fresh agreements with effect from Aug 24, 2026.
The department has also directed all chief executive officers (district education authorities) to initiate fresh hiring against vacant STI slots according to the district-wise allocation under the School Teacher Internship Programme 2024.
The extension comes as the provincial government continues to use temporary and contractual teaching arrangements to address vacancies in public schools. In November 2025, the government had approved another 12,500 STIs after scrapping the regular recruitment system. The latest move also raises questions about the prolonged absence of regular recruitment of schoolteachers.
The School Education Department did not carry out recruitment of permanent teaching staff during 2025 while thousands of sanctioned posts remained vacant. The department itself had identified a need for 25,000 educators on a need basis in schools facing acute teacher shortages in a recruitment-related document, underscoring the continuing staffing gap.
Published in Dawn, September 26th, 2026
