LAHORE – Punjab’s schools are set for new layer of scrutiny, with government turning to ex servicemen to strengthen ground-level monitoring.
More than 2 dozen Monitoring and Evaluation Officers will be deployed across 22 districts, putting school performance firmly under the spotlight.
Under Punjab Education Foundation (PEF), authorities planned the recruitment of 28 Monitoring and Evaluation Officers (MEOs) in the first phase, with deployments covering 22 districts. A major share of the positions 21 seats has been earmarked for military personnel, while seven posts will be available to civilians.
The move is aimed at making school inspections more frequent, organized and effective, particularly at the field level where monitoring teams are expected to conduct regular visits and assess school operations.
The selected MEOs will serve on one-year contracts and receive a monthly salary of Rs60,000, along with other benefits and facilities available under Education Department rules. To facilitate their movement between schools and remote inspection sites, the officers will also be provided with official motorcycles.
Applications have been invited from GCOs and NCOs, with September 7, 2026 set as the deadline for submission. Officials may extend the contracts after the initial one-year term, while the government is also preparing to expand the recruitment drive to additional districts in its second phase.
The move could bring stronger sense of discipline and accountability to school inspections. Trained under the armed forces’ emphasis on discipline, punctuality and structured field operations, the ex-Army personnel are expected to bring a firm and systematic approach to monitoring schools on the ground.
Currently, Punjab’s state run schools face major staffing imbalance, with more than 33,000 schools reporting staff shortages, while over 46,000 teachers have been identified as surplus across nearly 27,000 schools. The government has proposed hiring 25,000 educators to address critical gaps.
The province has around 38,130 public schools, serving more than 1 Crore students with approximately 307,540 teachers. While 74% of schools reportedly have basic facilities, thousands still require repairs, renovation or safety improvements.
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