ABBOTTABAD, Aug 22: The three girls colleges in Abbottabad are facing an acute shortage of teaching staff and at least 21 posts of lecturers have been lying vacant for the last many months.

According to information gathered by this correspondent, 13 posts of lecturers are vacant in Government Girls Degree College No.1, including those for mathematics, statistics, physics, chemistry, sociology, English, Arabic and Urdu.

Talking to Dawn, students complained that more admissions than the college capacity had been given in the current academic session. They said for over 2,000 students, the college did not have required number of teachers, which had put their future at stake.

The situation in degree girls colleges No2 and 4 was same as they, too, were facing a shortage of teachers specially for the subjects of mathematics, Islamiat and physics.

The Government Girls College, Nawansher, which was described as a gift for the area people by the provincial governor at the time of its inauguration, has been running on an ad hoc basis since its opening in 1998. The college gives admissions only in arts subjects as it has no science teacher. Most of the teachers have been appointed on contract and work on part-time basis.

If science teachers are appointed in the college it will be able to serve the area people as a large number of students are forced to take admissions in other colleges or join private institutions. Sources said all the posts of teachers have been lying vacant since long but officials at the education department were least interested in filling them.