School teachers across Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa will soon require a licence to continue teaching, as part of the government’s efforts to ensure high educational standards, the province’s Department of Elementary and Secondary Education said on Tuesday.
Last year, Sindh became the first province to introduce a teaching licence test under its teaching licence policy — introduced in 2023 — in a bid to ensure a higher calibre of educators in schools.
Pakistan has a severe education crisis, with more than 26 million children out of school, the majority in rural areas, according to official government figures — one of the highest rates in the world.
According to a notification issued by the department, a copy of which is available with Dawn.com, “only registered and licensed teachers will be authorised to teach at schools”, for which the education department will set up a regulatory body.
The regulatory body will be responsible for issuing licences, as well as renewing them based on the teachers’ performance, it was notified.
The establishment of the licensing regulatory body aims to “improve the quality of education”, enhance student learning outcomes, by ensuring that only “licensed and professionally qualified” teachers are allowed to teach at schools.
The 15-member body will oversee the development and implementation of a standardised licensing framework, as well as develop robust teaching standards via routine performance evaluations and reviews.
The education department has allocated a budget of Rs200 million for the establishment of the regulatory body.
According to the District Education Performance Index (DEPIx) Report 2020-23 released by the Planning Commission, “Pakistan’s national average score in the DEPIx is 53.46, placing the country in the “low” performance category.
