Almost 150,000 positions are eliminated throughout the province; 30,000 educational positions have already been eliminated
RAWALPINDI:
Amid acute financial and economic crisis in Punjab, the provincial government has given final approval to ax nearly 150,000 vacant posts ranging from grade 1 to 16 across all departments.
Implementation has begun and all of those positions will be eliminated ahead of the 2026-27 budget, with directives issued not to allocate funds for these positions in the next fiscal plan.
Most of the cuts have been imposed in the education sector, where 30,391 positions (grades 1 to 16) have been eliminated. The Punjab Finance Department has formally issued a notification in this regard.
The eliminated positions include primary, secondary and high school teachers, as well as non-teaching staff such as invigilators, assistants, naib qasids, administrators and assistants. These positions, spread across schools and education offices across the province, had remained vacant for the past three years.
In a second phase, another 30,000 teaching positions are expected to be cut by the end of this month. According to the notification, the abolition of 30,391 posts is aimed at reducing the financial burden on the provincial exchequer.
In addition, 221 posts have been abolished in the Punjab Public Prosecution Department and its affiliated institutions. The Finance Department has also issued notifications for abolition of vacant posts in five departments, including posts such as watchmen, drivers, clerks, assistants, cashiers and accountants.
Teachers’ organizations strongly condemned the decision and announced protests. Leaders such as Dr Sagheer Alam, Rana Liaqat, Shafiq Bhalowalia and Chaudhry Shahzad described the move as “oppressive” and claimed that the government is depriving people of employment instead of creating jobs.
They noted that there has been no new hiring in the last four years and warned that the decision would negatively affect the operation of schools and public offices.
The Pakistan Employees Association also criticized the move. Its central vice president, Shahzad Kiani, and its division president, Chaudhry Mubashir, warned that without strong resistance, up to 80% of government jobs could be eliminated, claiming that the education and health systems are being undermined.
They have demanded the immediate reversal of the decision and the start of a new recruitment.
Sources further indicate that 100,000 more jobs in Punjab may be cut by June 30.
Large-scale post-scrapping continues
Meanwhile, the process of abolition of permanent posts in all government departments of Punjab continues and multiple notifications have been issued for abolition of posts that have been lying vacant for a long time.
The Department of Special Education has abolished 244 positions, the Department of Agriculture has eliminated 5,199 positions, the Department of Forestry has eliminated 753 positions, the Department of Housing and Physical Planning has abolished 727 positions and the Department of Irrigation has eliminated 1,041 positions.
