To reopen remote-area girls primary schools, the Shangla education department has recommended appointing male teachers in those schools to make them functional and secure the future of hundreds of female students. The policy is likely to be implemented in the coming days.
According to the district education department, around 24 girls’ primary schools, located in remote hilly areas, were non-functional due to multiple challenges faced by female teachers, including a lack of accommodation, daily travel access to schools, and security threats.
District Education Officer Shangla, Parveen Rehman, had adopted this policy and recommended it to the department for the first time in 2016. She observed that due to a shortage of teachers and the absence of local teachers in remote areas of the district, schools were unable to operate. However, her proposal was not implemented until recently, when the policy was discussed and sent for further implementation.
Former Minister Shaukat Yousafzai provided meeting minutes to this correspondent, which stated that a meeting regarding the policy was held on January 9. The meeting was convened after the former minister requested the chief minister to implement the policy to reopen girls’ primary schools.
According to the meeting minutes, female teachers were unable to perform their duties in high-altitude hilly areas, where they lacked accommodation and security arrangements. As a result, they felt scared.
District Education Officer Parveen Rehman discussed the challenges faced by female teachers in hilly areas and suggested that the issue could be resolved through the deputation and appointment of male teachers in those schools.
On Monday, District Education Officer Parveen Rehman affirmed the move, stating that they had 30 schools where teachers were afraid and reluctant to perform their duties.
“The teachers have submitted letters stating that they cannot perform their duties in hilly areas due to a lack of accommodation and safety concerns,” Parveen Rehman said.
The district education officer said she had been struggling to get this policy implemented not only in Shangla but also in all remote, mountainous districts to protect the future of girl students by imparting education.
She explained that male teachers could walk or ride bicycles to attend classes and could even stay in local people’s guesthouses. This, she believed, would improve the female literacy rate in the district.
The district education officer noted that female teachers would be posted in plain-area schools, ensuring that both types of schools would function properly, particularly the reopening of closed schools.
The Chief Minister secretariat has directed Male District Education Officer Aurangzeb Khan to hold an emergency meeting to identify risky schools in far-flung areas with shortages of female Primary School Teachers (PSTs) and Primary School Head Teachers (PSHTs). The meeting aims to devise a mechanism for deploying male PSTs and PSHTs from nearby areas on a rotation basis.
Also read; International Education Day Marked
Additionally, the female education officer has been directed to post female PSTs and PSHTs in schools with teacher shortages.
