Rawalpindi, June 4:
Pakistan’s education privatisation drive sparks outrage as teachers warn of collapse
According to The Express Tribune, PTU President Ramzan Inqalabi, Educators Association President Basharat Iqbal Raja, education activist Akhiyan Gul, and Education Pensioners Association Secretary General Shafiq Bhalowalia, speaking at a press conference, described the policy as a severe blow to Pakistan’s public education system.
A growing controversy has erupted in Pakistan’s education sector after major teachers’ and pensioners’ organisations strongly criticised the government’s continued push towards privatisation of public educational institutions.
Representatives of the Punjab Teachers Union (PTU), Educators Association and Education Pensioners Association have denounced the outsourcing of government schools and colleges under the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) framework and the newly introduced Schools of Eminence programme, as reported by The Express Tribune.
According to The Express Tribune, PTU President Ramzan Inqalabi, Educators Association President Basharat Iqbal Raja, education activist Akhiyan Gul, and Education Pensioners Association Secretary General Shafiq Bhalowalia, speaking at a press conference, described the policy as a severe blow to Pakistan’s public education system.
The leaders claimed that nearly 15,000 government schools were outsourced during the previous year, leading to the elimination of around 50,000 teaching positions. The organisations alleged that permanent teaching staff in outsourced institutions have increasingly been replaced by graduates and MPhil degree holders hired by private operators on salaries ranging from Rs 8,000 to Rs 10,000 per month.