Govt scraps music and physical education teacher posts from primary schools

The Ministry of Primary and Mass Education has cancelled the newly created posts of music and physical education teachers in government primary schools, following widespread debate and criticism.

The revised Government Primary School Teacher Recruitment Rules 2025 were officially gazetted on Sunday (November 2).

Confirming the development, Masud Akhtar Khan, Additional Secretary of School Division under the ministry, said on Monday (November 3) that the gazette for the amended rules was issued on Sunday.

“In the August version of the rules, there were four categories of teaching positions. After the amendment, only two categories remain, and the posts for assistant teachers in music and physical education have been removed,” he said.

When asked whether the decision came in response to mounting criticism, the official declined to comment, saying, “You may look into it further.”

He also mentioned that the revised rules include a wording correction to avoid misinterpretation. In the earlier version, it was stated that 20 percent of the positions would go to graduates in science, while 80 percent would go to graduates in other disciplines. “This could have been misunderstood,” he said, clarifying that in practice, the remaining 80 percent of posts were common, meaning graduates in science or other disciplines could apply.

“To clarify this, the phrase ‘in other disciplines’ has been replaced with ‘in science and other relevant disciplines,’” he added.

The ministry had earlier, on August 28, issued the new recruitment rules for government primary schools, which included the creation of new positions for music and physical education teachers. However, after the gazette’s publication, some religious groups strongly objected to the inclusion of the music teacher post, leading the government to ultimately revoke both positions in the latest amendment.