“We will invite the PhD teachers of different subjects to give their input in the education reforms,” Qaisar Alam Khan, additional secretary of the department, told Dawn on Sunday.
He said that E&SE Secretary Joudat Ayaz directed the department to collect data of all the PhD teachers, serving in schools, he said. The data of all teachers, who had received academic and administrative training in the developed countries, would also be compiled for seeking their opinion on different issues, he added.
Sources in the education department said that currently the department couldn't be benefited from the experience and expertise of PhDs and the teachers, who had foreign training, at board level as they were not involved in the formulation of education policies to utilise their skills. They said that education department had no data of such teachers.
After being ignored by the government, the PhDs and teachers having foreign training were eyeing private universities for getting part time job, a PhD scholar told this scribe.
“Sometime they also switch over to the government colleges and universities for getting high salaries and other financial benefits,” he added.
The scholar said that there were no incentives like promotion and increase in monthly salaries for teachers to get a PhD degree. He said that Punjab government was giving an increment of Rs50,000 to teachers for having PhD degree.
He said that PhD teachers should be appointed in the key institutions of the education department including Provincial Institute of Teachers Education, Regional Institute of Teacher Education, all boards of intermediate and secondary education and Directorate of Curricula and Teacher Education.
The students across the province would benefit from those highly qualified and skilled teachers if they were appointed in those institutions, he said.
He said that PhD teachers could play an important role if they were posted in the training institutions, however, most of the people working on different positions were incompetent and irrelevant.
He suggested that government should utilize their capabilities and skills in different subjects that would encourage more teachers to get PhD degree.
Qaiser Alam said that the process of data compilation of PhDs and teachers having foreign training would be completed within a month.
He said that a directory would be made of such teachers with their pictures, full addresses and cellular phone numbers to contact them anytime when needed.
“Including the opinion of such teachers in the education reform is actually acknowledgment of their services,” the official said.
