10 percent of sanctioned teachers' posts in girls schools vacant: Fafen

One in every ten sanctioned teaching posts in government girls high schools is lying vacant nation-wide, whereas one teacher has to teach on an average 33 girls, according to Free and Fair Election Network (Fafen) report.
Fafen monitored 61 girls' schools during February 2011, and concluded that as many as 1493 teaching posts were sanctioned in the monitored schools, of which 1347 were occupied, leaving 10 percent of the sanctioned posts vacant, as for the non teaching posts, on average 11 per cent of these sanctioned posts ware lying vacant across the country. The highest percentage of vacant teaching (29 percent) and the non-teaching (18 percent) posts was observed in the monitored schools of Sindh. The highest teacher student ratio was also observed in Sindh where one teacher is responsible to teach 45 students.
As many as 34 of the monitored 61 schools (55 per cent) did not have a library for the high schools girl students. The lack of libraries in more than half of the monitored girls' high schools should be a serious concern for the government. This becomes more important with the fact that relatively lesser boys high schools run by the states lack a library.
According to Fafen's observation of 50 government boys' high schools in January 2011, 62 per cent of schools had a library. Such gender disparity in similar institutions reflects gender insensitivity on part of the policy makers. However, general building and sanitation conditions in the monitored girls' high schools were satisfactory. With the exception of one school monitored in Sindh, classrooms of all the monitored schools were found to be clean. Despite secure buildings, 43 per cent monitored schools did not have a security guard, regardless of constant threats to schools in the country in genera and girls' schools in particular, especially in region under conflict like KP, FATA and Balochistan.