College teachers in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa getting salaries without taking classes, reveals report

Around 200 teachers of the higher education department posted at different government degree colleges in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are getting salaries without taking classes as they have been posted irrationally and in the wrong positions, reports Mohammad Ashafaq for Dawn.

Along with the 200, another 679 teachers in government colleges were not meeting the required credit hours, as per official documents. Against the department’s policy of two credit hours, these teachers have only one credit hour.

Specified workload for teachers

The higher education department has specified a workload of each teacher that is 12 credit hours in a week while relaxation has been made of three credit hours for the faculty assigned other duties including coordinator, controller, examiners and chief proctors in the respective colleges.

Burden on rest of the teachers

The posting and transfers of teachers has shifted the burden to the remaining 808 teachers serving in different colleges, who are forced to attend additional classes in their respective institutes due to shortage of staff.

A breakdown of teachers not taking classes

The data shows that six professors in BPS-20 posted in different colleges, 33 associate professors in BPS-19, 61 assistant professors in BPS-18 and 85 lecturers in BPS-17 are not attending classes.

The teachers, who attend half of their classes, include 31 professors in BPS-20, 195 associate professors in BPS-19, 163 assistant professors in BPS-18 and 285 lecturers in BPS-17.

The teachers, who are overburdened and attend additional classes beyond their capacity, include 16 professors in BPS-20, 84 associate professors in BPS-19, 238 assistant professors in BPS-18 and 270 lecturers in BPS-17.

The truth about irrationality of posting

Sources told Dawn that the minister and secretaries of higher education were responsible for irrationality in the transfer of teachers.

“For instance, if there is a vacant seat for Urdu teacher in BPS-19 in a government college, which is located in urban area or important city like Peshawar, HED orders posting of a mathematics teacher there in the same grade,” they added.

However, after posting on the wrong position, the mathematics teacher couldn’t teach Urdu because in colleges only a teacher specialised in subject could teach the same subject. “Wrong posting can be managed at school level but it is not possible in higher education institutions,” they added.

Sources said that teachers were using their contacts with the high authorities to get posting on wrong positions. They added that such teachers were unable to teach in colleges.

They said that principals of government degree colleges had also reservations over wrong postings as it caused academic losses to students.