DLP Report
PESHAWAR
A subcommittee of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly’s Standing Committee on Elementary and Secondary Education on Friday reviewed in detail the issue of illegal encroachments on government school land and the recruitment of temporary teachers in primary schools.
The meeting was held at the Provincial Assembly Secretariat under the chairmanship of subcommittee chairman and MPA Rashad Khan. Subcommittee member Adnan Khan, Additional Secretary Elementary and Secondary Education, Law Department officials, Deputy Secretary Provincial Assembly Tariq Noor and other relevant officials attended the meeting.
Education department officials briefed the committee on the status of encroachments on government school land in different districts, measures being taken to protect state property and efforts to remove illegal occupations.
According to the officials, encroachments had been identified on the land of 109 schools, of which land belonging to 16 schools had been retrieved through the efforts of commissioners and deputy commissioners.
Officials said most of the occupations had allegedly been made by landowners on the grounds that they were entitled to the appointment of Class-IV employees at the concerned schools, a demand they claimed had not been met.
Committee member Adnan Khan directed the department to present complete records of all affected schools at the next meeting, including details of their approval, establishment, mutation, land ownership, nature and reasons for encroachment and other relevant documents. He said the record was necessary to determine responsibility for any negligence or irregularities and take appropriate action.
Subcommittee chairman Rashad Khan expressed serious concern over the encroachments, saying land allocated for government educational institutions was meant for the future of children and promotion of education and could not be allowed to be occupied illegally.
He said protecting government land and the assets of educational institutions was a basic responsibility of the education department and that negligence in this regard would not be tolerated. He directed officials to compile complete records of the affected schools and present them before the committee to help find an effective and permanent solution to the issue.
The meeting also discussed the recruitment of temporary Primary Teaching Certificate (PTC) teachers in primary schools under the UNICEF PTC Fund during the 2025-26 financial year to address teacher shortages.
Officials informed the committee that the services of the temporarily recruited teachers had ended following the expiry of the fund’s duration in August. However, following several complaints regarding the recruitment process, the chairman and committee members directed officials to present complete records of all appointments at the next meeting, including dates of appointment, educational qualifications, prescribed criteria and other relevant documents.
The committee said the record would be examined to assess the transparency of the recruitment process.
At the conclusion of the meeting, Mr Rashad Khan directed the Elementary and Secondary Education Department to ensure that complete, authentic and verified records relating to both the encroachments on school land and temporary teacher recruitment were presented at the next meeting.
He said the subcommittee would examine all available records and facts, prepare its report and submit it to the standing committee for further necessary action.
