PUNJAB is once again taking a lead that needs to be replicated at federal level and other provinces as well, as part of the measures to improve things in education sector. It has decided to issue teaching licences and a Teachers Licence Act would soon be tabled in the Provincial Assembly. According to its Education Minister, Murad Raas, a process for registration of sixty thousand private schools would also be started soon after Eid-ul-Azha.
The proposed measures, if implemented in letter and spirit, would go a long way in promotion of education and improving its quality, which has been a matter of concern since long. The idea of licensing for teaching like those of engineers and doctors is appreciable as unqualified and untrained teachers are among the root causes of deterioration of standards of education in schools, colleges and universities. Hopefully, the issuance of licences would not be a problem for those who already possess professional qualifications like CT, BT, B.Ed and M.Ed from authentic institutions as they can be issued licence for teaching for that particular level of teaching. However, majority of those in private educational institutions do not have the professional qualifications as in most of the cases unqualified teachers have been hired on nominal salary and in the process the quality of education is compromised. The requirement of licence would serve as an incentive for acquiring and improving professional qualifications and this would be in the long-term interest of the individuals as they would be better placed to get better salaries and also seek employment abroad. There is also a mushroom growth of private schools that are operating in small houses in almost every street of the populated areas. Majority of them have nothing to do with the mission of teaching but are considered as money minting entities. There should be clear-cut criteria for registration and there should be no compromise on it, otherwise it would prove to be an exercise in futility.
