Punjab govt schools: Minister takes notice of presence of over surplus teachers

LAHORE: Punjab Minister for School Education Rana Sikandar Hayat has taken notice of the presence of over 46,000 surplus teachers in government schools across the province.

In a high-level briefing, the Minister was informed that more than 46,000 surplus teachers are in 27000 schools, leading to annual financial losses worth billions of rupees. Minister Education has directed that all surplus teachers be transferred to over 33,000 schools facing staff shortages under the rationalization policy, with the process starting from July 15 and to be completed by July 23.

The Education Minister was informed that 20,948 surplus teachers are present in 13,000 primary schools, while 23,648 teachers are required in 13,846 primary schools based on the student-teacher ratio. Similarly, 12,533 surplus teachers are serving in 5,940 elementary schools, while 18,017 teaching positions are vacant in 15,884 elementary schools. In addition, 888 surplus teachers are posted in 634 secondary schools.

Minister Rana Sikandar Hayat directed that all 46,000+ surplus teachers be adjusted through a systematic reshuffling process under the rationalization policy to address staffing shortages in other schools. He noted that the presence of surplus staff is causing the province to suffer annual losses worth billions of rupees. The rationalization policy, he said, will help save the education department from these recurring financial losses.

Highlighting the root cause of the issue, Rana Sikandar Hayat stated that "fake enrolment" was the main reason behind the surplus, which has now been curbed. Moving forward, student admissions and registrations will be linked with NADRA to ensure authenticity. He added that this reform will result in significant annual savings for the provincial education system.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2025