Around 20,000 Punjab schoolteachers go unpaid for three months, risking disruption to education

LAHORE: Approximately 20,000 teachers employed in 4,300 schools under the Punjab Education Initiatives Management Authority (PEIMA) have not received their salaries for the past three months, resulting in significant financial hardship for many of them.

According to teachers and school administrations, payments to PEIMA partner schools for the months of January, February, and March remain outstanding. This delay has made it increasingly difficult for schools to pay staff salaries and cover operational costs.

Educators have warned that the ongoing salary delays are forcing many teachers to consider leaving their positions in search of more stable income sources. They expressed concern that a shortage of teachers could disrupt academic activities in thousands of schools, potentially jeopardizing the education of nearly 600,000 students enrolled in the programme.

Teachers and administrators have also highlighted that the continued delay in payments could lead to the closure of schools if the issue is not resolved promptly. They emphasized the urgent need for authorities to address the situation to prevent further negative impacts on both staff and students.

Stakeholders have called for immediate action from relevant authorities to ensure the timely disbursement of salaries and operational funds, warning that the future of hundreds of thousands of students is at stake if the matter remains unresolved.