UNDERSTANDING THE WORK OF FEMALE TEACHERS IN LOW FEE PRIVATE SCHOOLS IN PUNJAB, PAKISTAN

While Low Fee Private Schools (LFPSs) and Public Private Partnership (PPPs) initiatives have been widely promoted in various contexts including Pakistan, they have seldom been viewed through the lens of the teacher’s life and work. To understand the work of female teachers in LFPSs, I apply a conceptual framework that demonstrates the interconnectedness of teachers’ career and working conditions, gender and teacher labour markets in looking at the work of teachers. Specifically I ask, how female teachers perceive and experience their careers, working conditions and gendered labour in LFPSs with regards to the occupational labour market for teachers in Punjab, Pakistan. My qualitative study is based on interviews and focus group discussions with teachers and principals in LFPSs located in Punjab. In addition, NGO fieldworkers and civil society members who work on education were also interviewed to gain a better understanding of the context. Findings from my study point to how haphazard recruitment, lack of career paths and the diminishing social image and status of teachers negatively affect the work and motivation of female teachers in LFPSs in Punjab. A crucial argument that emerges from my study is that while teachers in LFPS themselves are willing to learn and improve their performance, they do not have enough opportunities for in-service training in challenging areas such as multi-grade teaching, subject specialisation, changing syllabus and dealing with students who have very poor learning levels. While for young, single and female teachers a major reason for leaving employment in LFPSs was their inability to work after getting married, many teachers argued that a low salary and tough working conditions, often caused women to move to other jobs. The study affirms the observation that female teachers in LFPS are paid lower wages and are increasingly being hired in private schools due to their gender. Women in LFPSs face much different working conditions, management attitudes and salary as compared to male teachers. Findings show that women’s work in LFPSs teaching in Pakistan takes place in a social, economic and political environment that constrains women’s labour force participation.Ph.D