Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly lawmakers discussed the issue of KP minority quota teacher posts on Tuesday, April 14, and warned that vacant reserved teaching positions are worsening staff shortages in northern districts. The debate centred on how unfilled minority-quota posts are affecting schools in areas where very few or no eligible non-Muslim candidates are available locally.
PTI MPA Ubaid ur Rehman, who represents Lower Dir, said the current policy is creating practical problems in teacher recruitment. He argued that when reserved posts remain vacant, students suffer, and the constitutional guarantee of free and compulsory education under Article 25-A is weakened.
According to the lawmaker, several teaching positions reserved under the 5% minority job quota remain vacant in districts such as Lower Dir and Upper Dir. He said a temporary arrangement used in 2022 allowed authorities to appoint local Muslim candidates from the same union council when no minority candidates were available, but the current policy no longer permits that option.
He called for an urgent amendment or policy change that would allow authorities to fill vacant posts with local candidates if no eligible non-Muslim applicants are available at the district, adjacent district or divisional level. Ruling PTI MPA Anwar Khan of Upper Dir also expressed concern and said the same hiring issue is affecting several union councils in his area.
Read: Punjab Sets Minimum Age for Marriage at 18
Elementary and Secondary Education Minister Arshad Ayub acknowledged that multiple lawmakers had raised the issue with him. He outlined the current order of preference for minority-quota appointments: first from the same district, then from adjacent districts, and finally from within the same division.
However, he noted that the law does not clearly state what should happen if no minority candidates are available even at the divisional level. That gap, lawmakers argued, is now contributing to prolonged teacher shortages in some parts of the province.
The Speaker referred the matter to the relevant House Committee for further discussion and recommendations. The committee will now examine possible solutions to the vacancy problem while preserving the purpose of the minority quota.
The session also featured a separate concern raised by MPA Asif Khan Mehsud regarding alleged large-scale deforestation in South Waziristan. Later, the House adjourned the sitting until next Monday because too few members were present to meet the quorum
