Pakistan: Punjab province's education system shrinks as privatisation drive picks up pace

Rawalpindi [Pakistan] May 22 (ANI): Pakistan's Punjab province's public education sector is facing a steep decline as thousands of government schools are being handed over under privatisation and public-private partnership policies, raising serious concerns among teachers' organisations and education activists, as reported by The Express Tribune.
According to The Express Tribune, data revealed that nearly three-and-a-half years ago, Punjab had 47,413 government-run primary, middle, high and higher secondary schools. The number has now fallen to 38,108 after the implementation of privatisation and outsourcing schemes. The remaining institutions include 21,637 primary schools, 7,298 middle schools, 8,236 high schools and 937 higher secondary schools.
Reports indicate that another 15,000 schools could be transferred to private management during the summer vacation period under multiple outsourcing initiatives. Authorities have also reportedly begun the process of selling nearly 500 high and higher secondary schools located in major cities and district headquarters under a project referred to as "Nawaz Sharif Animation." Tender applications for these institutions have already been received. Punjab's school education department currently has 673,120 sanctioned teaching posts. However, only 310,401 teachers are currently serving across the province. These include 161,128 primary school teachers, 100,056 middle school teachers and 43,826 teachers at high and higher secondary levels, while thousands of remaining posts have reportedly been abolished.
Teacher recruitment has remained suspended since 2018, with officials now considering the hiring of teaching interns on daily wages and fixed salaries instead of appointing permanent staff. Leaders of several teachers' associations strongly criticised the policy, arguing that previously privatised schools had failed to function effectively, as cited by The Express Tribune.
Punjab Teachers Union President Ramzan Inqalabi and other representatives claimed many buyers are now requesting the government to reclaim those institutions due to operational failures. Education representatives accused the provincial bureaucracy of weakening the public education system and attempting to reduce the state's role in education. They demanded an immediate halt to privatisation, insisting that the Constitution guarantees free education and healthcare for citizens, as reported by The Express Tribune. (ANI)