Teacher demand, supply gap threatens future: PEW
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Cut in Govt spending, int’l aid jeopardises future of millions
The Pakistan Economy Watch (PEW) on Sunday said increasing gap between demand and supply of teachers pose a threat to Pakistan’s future.
Student-teacher ratio as well as teacher recruitment practices, teacher management, teacher attendance, teaching practices and absence of performance monitoring system in majority of schools is resulting in low student learning, it said.
Pakistan’s prosperous future can only be ensured if it is realised that every child needs a teacher for which creation of around fifty thousand new teaching posts in next few years are required, said Dr Murtaza Mughal, President PEW.
He said that the supply of teachers is failing to keep pace with the demand, the world needs 6.8 million teachers to ensure every child’s right to basic education, he added.
Globally, 5.1 million teachers are expected to leave the profession in next two years which and must be replaced, said Dr Murtaza Mughal.
He said that progress on reducing the number of out-of-school children has stalled. As of 2011, 57 million children of primary school age and another 69 million of lower secondary school age were out of school threatening goal of universal primary education (UPE) by 2015.
The situation is most extreme in sub-Saharan Africa, and Saarc region where the school-aged population continues to rise which call for minimum 10 per cent increase in supply of teachers every year to meet the goal of UPE, he informed.
Policies and initiatives to address the problem of exclusion from education and reduce inequalities remain inadequate in many countries including Pakistan, said Dr. Mughal.
Government spending as well as international aid to has seen cuts due to multiple reasons which has jeopardised future of millions of children; it has resulted in two per cent increase in global primary net enrolment rate since 2005.
