Punjab unveils new strategy to tackle govt teachers skipping TNA Test

LAHORE: The School Education Department Punjab has decided to take strict action against teachers who refuse to participate in the Teacher Needs Assessment (TNA) test.

Instead of directly testing teachers, the department will now assess the academic performance of their students, reports said.

The performance of students of these teachers who did not take the TNA test will be assessed. If the results are found unsatisfactory, disciplinary action will be taken against the concerned teachers.

Only 10% of the approximately 300,000 teachers across Punjab participated in the TNA test. The assessment had been cancelled several times earlier due to mass boycott by teachers. As a result, the department has shifted the focus of teachers to student-based assessment.

The assessment test will be conducted for students after the reopening of schools on August 15 after the summer vacations.

Many teachers argue that they were already tested through exams when they were hired and consider further evaluation unfair.

They have said that the department is free to review students’ performance at any time but opposes repeated testing of teachers.