KARACHI, Dec 21: Sindh government has decided to constitute recruitment committees at district level to appoint teachers on two-year contracts for schools and colleges in the province.

Sources in the provincial education department said necessary approval had been accorded by the competent authority in this connection and a notification would be issued soon.

The district committees would not only help curtail the existing lengthy process of appointing teachers but would also pave the way for filling the long-pending vacancies at many educational institutions, the source told Dawn.

It was learnt that the District Teachers’ Recruitment Committees would recommend the names of qualified teachers while the educational institutions’ management committees would act as the appointing authorities.

The committees, as approved, would be headed by District Coordination Officer (DCO) concerned. Nominees from the NGOs, AKU-IED, Sindh Education department and the institutions’ management committees, besides two notables of the areas where the institutions are located, would be members of the committees.

All appointments, under the recruitment committees, would be made on contract basis and posts would be offered with a clear specification of the school or college concerned. After appointment the teachers would not be transferred.

The management committees would have the right to grant extension in the contract after every two years, in case the concerned officials are satisfied with the performance of the employee.

The source said the proposed arrangement was aimed at doing away with the present process of appointment which was lengthy. A number of schools and colleges are currently almost non-functional, or failing to effectively impart teaching and training due to non-availability of faculty.

A senior educational official said the government wanted to continue with the appointment system in offing for good in the case of primary and middle school teachers. In the case of high schools and colleges, on the other hand, appointments on contract basis would not be done on long-term basis. In other words, this is a stop-gap arrangement as far as colleges and high schools are concerned.

While maintaining that the government didn’t want to completely do away with the system of appointing high school teachers and lecturers for colleges on the recommendations of public service commission, the source said that policy was being framed to ensure that the two categories of teachers in question be appointed on regular basis against vacancies specified with the name of various educational institutions.

It was further learnt that the provincial government had decided to pay the teachers through the school and college management committees, keeping in view the teacher-student ratio. In the elementary schools, the salary of teachers may be fixed at the rate of Rs40 per student per month, but the total payment should not exceed Rs2000 per month.

In the case of secondary schools and colleges, payment to one teacher should not exceed to Rs3000 and Rs4000 per month respectively. While appointing teachers at any functional school or college, it would be mandatory that a clear vacancy existed there.

In the case of non-functional or closed schools the newly-appointed teachers would be paid from government fund, which would specially be made available to the management committee in question for the purpose.