In a controversial move, the Punjab School Education Department has reportedly abolished around 44,000 posts of government schoolteachers across the province, citing the ongoing outsourcing of public schools as the primary reason. The step has triggered widespread concern among educators and unemployed youth who had been awaiting government recruitment for years.
According to department sources, nearly 15 percent of teaching posts have been scrapped, specifically in schools that have now been handed over to private management. The outsourced institutions will now hire teachers independently, effectively eliminating the need for government-employed staff in those facilities. So far, around 10,000 schools have been outsourced.
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Educators and youth have condemned the decision, warning it will further fuel unemployment in Punjab. Teacher unions have long demanded recruitment to fill nearly 100,000 vacant posts, a call that has gone unheeded since the last hiring round in 2018. Critics argue the shortage has severely affected the quality of education and added to the frustration of highly qualified, jobless graduates.
Ammara Rasheed, an MPhil student, called the decision “shocking,” adding that thousands of hopeful candidates have now aged out of eligibility due to repeated delays. “We waited years for a chance. Now we are being told there’s no post left to fill,” she said.
Meanwhile, Education Ministry spokesperson Noorul Huda offered a differing view, stating that the posts had not been formally abolished. Instead, he clarified that recruitment for outsourced schools would now be handled by the respective private entities managing them.
