A shortage of 15,684 teachers has been reported in government schools across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa despite the adjustment of surplus teachers across the province, according to the 2026 report of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Education Monitoring Authority (KPEMA).

The report provides details on teacher deployment, transfers, new recruitment and student-teacher ratios in government schools across the province.

According to the report, boys’ schools are facing a shortage of 13,508 teachers, while 2,870 teachers have been classified as surplus, leaving a net shortage of 10,727 teachers.

Girls’ schools, meanwhile, have a shortage of 7,911 teachers, while 3,284 teachers are surplus, resulting in a net shortage of 4,957 teachers.

The document states that student enrolment has been made the basic criterion for teacher deployment. Schools with up to 59 students are allocated 2 teachers, those with 60 to 99 students 3 teachers, schools with 100 students 4 teachers, and those with 140 students 5 teachers. One additional teacher is to be allocated for every additional 40 students.

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The report says large-scale teacher transfers and recruitments have been carried out across the province since March 2026 to address the shortage.

During this period, a total of 9,198 teachers were transferred, including 6,459 male and 2,739 female teachers.

In addition, 5,683 teachers were recruited for primary schools through Parent-Teacher Councils. The recruits included 2,088 male and 3,595 female teachers.

The gender-based analysis in the report shows that enrolment in girls’ schools has increased more than in boys’ schools. Girls’ enrolment increased by 26.2%, compared with a 16.2% increase in boys’ enrolment, increasing the need for teachers in girls’ schools.

The document states that 45.1% of boys’ schools and 41.6% of girls’ schools across the province are currently facing a shortage of teachers.

The report has called for the continued transfer and recruitment of teachers to maintain a balance between teacher availability and student enrolment.