ASSIGNMENT

ON
TEACHER PREPARATION AND EMPLOYMENT AND
RECRUITMENT POLICIES

Submitted To:

Ma’am Saira Mushtaq

Submitted By:

ABDULLAH JAN
ROLL NO. 42
B.Ed. (Hons.) 6th SEMESTER
SESSION (2021-2025)

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
BAHAUDDIN ZAKARIYA UNIVERSITY
MULTAN
Teacher preparation, employment, and recruitment policies in Pakistan involve several
steps and standards, designed to improve the quality of education and ensure that
competent teachers are serving in schools across the country. Here are some key aspects:

1. Teacher Education and Preparation

Pre-service Training: Before becoming a teacher, candidates typically undergo

professional training. In Pakistan, this includes various degrees such as a Bachelor of
Education (B.Ed) or a Master of Education (M.Ed). The duration and nature of these
programs have evolved, with a recent push toward a four-year B.Ed degree after
intermediate or A-levels as a minimum requirement, aimed at enhancing the professional
competence of teachers.

In-service Training: There are regular in-service training programs and workshops
organized by the government and private sectors to help teachers update their skills and
adapt to new educational technologies and methodologies.

2. Certification and Licensing

Teachers in Pakistan are required to have a teaching license or certification, which is

awarded after successful completion of teacher education programs. This certification can
be specific to different school levels (primary, secondary, higher secondary) and subject
specialties.

3. Recruitment policies

Public Sector:

The recruitment of teachers in government schools is typically managed by provincial

education departments. Candidates must pass competitive examinations and interviews.
Recruitment criteria and processes can vary between provinces.

Private Sector:

Private schools have their own recruitment processes that may or may not align with
those of the public sector. They often require candidates to pass an interview and
sometimes a demo teaching session. Private schools might have different criteria
depending on their educational philosophy and curriculum.

Recruitment policies for teachers in Pakistan vary between provinces, but there are some
general principles and processes that are typically observed across the country. The
recruitment of teachers in Pakistan involves several steps aimed at selecting qualified
candidates to improve the quality of education. Here are some key aspects of the
recruitment policies:

Minimum Qualifications

For Primary Teachers: Typically, a minimum of a Secondary School Certificate (SSC)

or higher, with some provinces requiring a Certificate in Teaching (CT) or an Associate
Degree in Education (ADE).

For Secondary Teachers: A Bachelor's degree in Education (B.Ed.) or a Master's degree

in a relevant subject is generally required.

Professional Qualifications

In addition to academic qualifications, professional teaching qualifications such as a

B.Ed. or M.Ed. are increasingly emphasized for teaching positions, especially in public
schools.

Competitive Examinations

Public school teacher recruitment often involves competitive examinations conducted by

provincial education departments or testing services. These exams test subject
knowledge, teaching skills, and sometimes general knowledge and analytical skills.

Interviews and Demonstrations

Candidates who pass the written tests are usually required to undergo interviews and
sometimes perform teaching demonstrations to assess their communication skills,
teaching methodology, and suitability for the teaching profession.
Merit and Quota System

Recruitment is typically based on merit, calculated from academic and professional

qualifications, test scores, and interview performance. There are also quota systems in
place for women, minorities, and disabled individuals to ensure inclusivity.

⁶. Training and Induction

Newly recruited teachers often undergo induction and training programs. These programs
aim to orient teachers with the latest teaching methodologies, classroom management
techniques, and curriculum updates.

. Continuous Professional Development

Teachers are encouraged or required to continue their professional development through

workshops, seminars, and further education. This is essential for career progression and
maintaining teaching licenses.

Contractual vs. Permanent Positions

Teachers can be recruited on a contractual basis, especially under specific programs or

initiatives, or as permanent staff.

4. Employment Policies

Contracts: Teachers in government schools are usually hired on a permanent basis after
completing a probation period, whereas private schools may offer both permanent and
contractual positions.

Salaries and Benefits: Government teachers often enjoy more stable salary structures and
benefits, including pensions and health insurance. Private school teachers’ benefits can
vary widely based on the school’s resources and management policies.

Teacher Performance and Accountability

There are measures in place to monitor and evaluate teacher performance in both the
public and private sectors. These may include classroom observations, student
performance tracking, and other appraisal methods. Poor performance can lead to
mandatory additional training or, in severe cases, termination.

Teacher performance and accountability current situation in Pakistan

As of my last update, the situation regarding teacher performance and accountability in

Pakistan is marked by a number of challenges as well as ongoing reforms aimed at
improvement. Here’s a summary of the key points:
Challenges:

Training and Qualifications: Many teachers in Pakistan, especially in rural areas, may
lack the necessary training and qualifications required to teach effectively. This issue is
compounded by a shortage of professional development opportunities.

Resource Allocation: There is often an unequal distribution of resources between rural

and urban schools, affecting the quality of education and the performance of teachers in
less developed areas.

Accountability Mechanisms: Effective mechanisms for evaluating teacher performance

have historically been weak or inconsistent. This has impacted the overall quality of
education, with limited incentives or repercussions based on performance.

Government Initiatives:

Education Sector Reforms: Recent years have seen various initiatives aimed at
improving both teacher performance and accountability. These include better teacher
training programs, the introduction of more stringent hiring criteria, and the
implementation of new assessment frameworks to regularly evaluate teacher
effectiveness.

Digital Tracking and Monitoring: Efforts are being made to utilize technology to
monitor and improve teacher attendance and performance, particularly in public schools.

Decentralization: There has been a push towards decentralizing education management,

giving local authorities more power to manage resources and hold teachers accountable.

International and Local NGO Involvement: Numerous non-governmental

organizations (NGOs) are also involved in the education sector, providing training,
resources, and support to improve teacher effectiveness. These organizations often work
in partnership with government bodies to implement educational programs.

Outcome-Based Approaches: Some regions are experimenting with outcome-based

approaches, where teachers' evaluations are increasingly tied to the performance of their
students. This method aims to increase accountability but also faces criticism regarding
fairness and the variability of student abilities and conditions.

Overall, while there are significant hurdles to overcome, there is a clear recognition of the
need for improvement in teacher performance and accountability in Pakistan, and
multiple efforts are underway to address these issues. However, the effectiveness of these
initiatives often varies greatly between different regions and the success of reforms relies
heavily on continuous government support and effective implementation strategies.

Teacher preparation and employment and recruitment policies in Pakistan have

been shaped by various government initiatives and educational plans :

1. Pakistan National Educational Conference (1947): The first educational

conference in Karachi emphasized the importance of teacher training and
adequate salaries.
2. Report of the Commission on National Education (1959): Recommendations
included revising teacher recruitment and promotion procedures, merit-based
appointments, and teacher training programs.
3. The New Education Policy (1970): Measures included teacher training
programs, pedagogy as a subject, and electronic media for teacher training.
4. National Education Policy (1972-80): Recommendations focused on teacher
training, women's empowerment, and compatible pay scales.
5. National Education Policy (1979): Teachers were seen as pivotal, with
recommendations for ideological commitment, in-service training, and Islamic
studies.
6. National Education Policy (1992): Recommendations included appointing
new primary school teachers, female teacher recruitment, and salary
improvements.
7. National Education Policy (1998-2010): Measures included merit-based
appointments, transparent management, and revising teacher training.
8. National Education Policy (2009): Recommendations emphasized bachelor's
degrees with B.Ed for elementary teaching and master's degrees with
B.Ed/M.Ed for secondary teaching.
The state of teacher recruitment in Pakistan

The process of recruiting teachers has always been plagued with politics, nepotism and
corruption

Islamabad:

The quality of teaching is directly linked to the way students learn and then perform in
their achievement tests. Therefore, it is no mystery that the learning outcomes of students
in Pakistan are below par.

So, the question to ponder over is how to improve the equality of teaching trainings, pre-
service and in-service both; the starting point to improve the quality of teaching is to
make the recruitment process transparent and selection merit based.

However, the state of teacher recruitment in Pakistan has not been encouraging in the
past as political interference, nepotism, ghost teachers and nontransparent practices
dominate the process. It is encouraging to note that recent efforts have been made in all
the provinces to improve matters.

Sindh:

Currently, there are 150,243 public sector teachers in Sindh as per government statistics.
As part of the reforms programme outlined in the Sindh Education Sector Plan 2014-18,
the provincial government has committed to make the teacher recruitment process merit-
based.

Although simple to explain, the recruitment process in the southern province is time
consuming. According to the new recruitment policy enforced in 2012, teachers are now
hired through a test held by the National Testing Service (NTS) after posts are advertised
by the education department.

NTS was hired through competitive bidding in November 2012 to conduct tests of
candidates for teaching posts at the school level. As per the set criteria, 60% or
moremarks are required to pass the test. In order to promote more women teachers,
female candidates with 60% or more marks awarded an additional 20 marks. After the
NTS test is held , the results are made public through the display of a merit list.

The eligibility of successful candidates and their credentials is then verified by a District
Recruitment Committee (DRC), headed by the District Coordination Officer (DCO) and
includes the district education officer, district officers and educationists.

After verification, a report is submitted to the Reform Support Unit (RSU) which
forwards it the donor, the World Bank, for vetting. After the donor endorses the results,
the teachers are notified of their recruitment.

Although seemingly transparent, this mode of recruitment faces delays because of the
involvement of many stakeholders. According to media sources, there is still a backlog of
about 16, 000 letters for teaching posts advertised in 2012.

The issue of ghost teachers is also quite prevalent in Sindh where over 40, 000 such cases
were identified in 2014. The government is aware of these issues, and with the reform
programme focusing on ensuring transparency and merit based selection, perhaps these
problems will also be ironed out in coming days.

Balochistan

Around 59, 581 teachers are currently working in public sector schools of Balochistan as
per official statistics. In-line with the state of recruitment in Sindh, the hiring process in
Balochistan has also not been void of political intervention in the past.

However, the teacher recruitment process in the process in the province is now heading
towards transparency where lawmakers have surrendered their discretion in the selection
process. Teachers are now hired through two testing services: the Balochistan Testing
Service (BTS) for hiring of primary and middle school teachers and the National Testing
Service (NTS) for the selection of high school teachers.

Under the new reforms related to teacher recruitment and selection, a two-year Associate
Degree for Education (ADE) is compulsory for a position in public sector schools in
Balochistan. For secondary school teachers, a Master's in Education (MEd) degree is also
necessary, along with a Master's degree in his or her specialisation subject.

Recently, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) launched an enquiry against more
than 600 teachers who were recruited based on fake documents and were serving in
various public sector schools of the province for the last 10 years or more.

According to NAB sources, the teachers obtained fake education degrees from various
institutions in Sindh. In order to avoid such issues in future, the government now only
accepts professional degrees accredited by the University of Balochistan. In general, the
recruitment process in Balochistan is also heading in the right direction.

Punjab

Punjab currently has a teaching workforce of 323, 225 teachers serving in 53, 448 public
sector schools. Punjab Education Sector Reform Programme (PESRP) was implemented
in the province between 20014 and 2007 with support from the World Bank.

Although PESRP delivered systematic improvements in teacher recruitment and

placement, there was visible changes in this regard. Under PESRP-II, with the support of
UKaid, numerous steps have been taken to ensure transparency in the recruitment
process.

The government of Punjab adopted a merit-based policy for hiring in 2013 when it
approved the the Recruitment Policy for 29, 822 educators. In general, the district
governments are responsible for the whole recruitment process.

Similar to what other provinces are practicing, a salient feature of the Recruitment Policy
2013 was the entry test conducted by NTS which merits a 10% weightage in the overall
grading of the candidate.

Similarly, 85% weightage is for the academic qualification and 5% for the interview.
After the results of NTS are out, candidates securing 45% marks ormore are notified and
the vacant posts are advertised across the districts.
The notified candidates are then called in for an interview which primarily consists of
document verification. After the 5% interview marks are assigned, a second and final
merit list is displayed after which the postings are made.

Despite the efforts to make the recruitment process transparent, there have been reports in
newspapers from various candidates who, despite having qualified on merit, were not
considered because of issues like obtaining No Objection Certificates (NOCs) from the
highest competent authority and clerical misconducts.

All-in-all, the recruitment process in Punjab has been majorly merit-based recently and is
expected to be more transparent in future appointments.

Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa

There are currently 118,756 teachers working in 27,892 public schools in Khyber
Pakhtunkhwa. Since early 2014, the provincial government has also started recruiting
teachers bassed on test conducted by the NTS after rules were amended in 2012.

However, along with clearing the NTS test, the candidate must also possess a
professional teaching degree. Like Punjab, these teachers are hired on a contractual basis
and then regularised after a period of around three years in service.

Similar to the practice undertaken in Sindh, union council-based recruitment has been
initiated in K-P for primary teachers as well in order to address the issue of shortages in
rural areas.

In order to improve the standard of education in public schools, the government is also
considering an option to conduct NTS examinations for the current teachers employed by
the education department.

If they fail to achieve 50% or more marks, the teachers will be allowed to seek an
honourable handshake policy. Media reports in the past have identified many teachers,
including women, who had been recruited to perform their duties away from home.
However, the government now allows candidates to specify five nearby schools of their
choice in the entry form. Overall, the teacher recruitment process in the province has now
improved after the recent reforms.