Exploring performance of the headteachers appointed through recruitment test : A case study from district Khairpur Mirs` Sindh

Headteachers’ performance is considered an important factor in school improvement in Sindh, Pakistan. This research focuses on headteachers’ performance who is a government officer of BPS-17 and above. There are different ways to fill the posts of headteachers in government schools of Sindh. One of the ways is to promote the senior teachers through regular government structure. Another, is to appoint the headteachers through competitive examination conducted by the Sindh Public Service Commission (SPSC). In recent times, the government of Sindh introduced recruitment examination through a third-party to recruit headteachers for elementary schools. The research focuses on performance of the headteachers recruited through test conducted by the Sukkur IBA University Pakistan. This qualitative study aimed to explore performance of the headteachers recruited through test conducted by Sukkur IBA-University testing services (STS) in order to determent any impact of decision of the Sindh government to recruit the headteachers through a written test conducted by a third party. Interviews and document analysis were used as data collection tools. The data was collected from three schools of district Khairpur Mirs’ in Sindh province. In each school the data was gathered from headteacher, teacher, students, parents and an SMC chairman. Additional interviews were taken from the Taluka Education Officers who were immediate supervisors responsible for school supervision and monitoring. The school record was also analysed for document analysis. The data was analysed using within case and cross-case thematic analysis. Findings of the study suggest that the new headteachers took some of initiatives despite facing challenges from various sides. The results of initiatives were evident in schools such as: there seemed regularity and punctuality among teachers and students; there were evidences for community’s co-operation for resource development at the schools; there were little parks established by these new headteachers. TEOs seemed satisfied with the performance of these headteachers. However, these headteachers were still not regularized as permanent employees of the Sindh government. On the one hand, the job insecurity pushes these headteachers to continue high performance. On the other hand, it creates anxiety among them about their future. The policy makers need to find ways to support these heads for their continuous performance and growth and also arrange for their regular employment structures, of course with stringent accountability processes built into the structure