The department released the schedule on Saturday. Applications have been sought for vacant posts of principals, both male and female, and candidates can submit their applications through the e-portal until 5:00pm on November 20.
The opening of the portal was also listed on the Higher Education Department’s own website, which recorded the opening of the e-portal for the appointment of principals on vacant seats on November 12. The department has likewise opened e-portals for the appointment of deputy directors and directors of colleges on vacant seats.
The department runs the appointment process through an online portal that it says is built on transparency, fairness and merit. The portal was developed to process applications for principals and directors of education in public sector colleges, replacing paper-based applications with a digital system.
There are 824 sanctioned posts of principals in the province, of which 413 posts are vacant, according to the department. The large number of vacancies is the reason the appointment process has been carried out in successive rounds.
In the first phase, the department sought applications from September 25 to October 10, 2024, and received 745 applications. A second round followed in March 2025, when the e-portal was reopened for the remaining vacant posts, and the latest round is the fifth in the series.
Principals lead the academic and administrative affairs of public sector colleges, working through the Directorate of Public Instruction and the divisional directors of education. Appointments are normally made for three years, subject to administrative and performance requirements.
The eligibility criteria for the posts were approved by the provincial cabinet in its meeting on July 9, 2024. Candidates are required to apply online through the portal, and the department has said the process is designed to ensure that appointments are made strictly on merit.
Candidates applying in the current round must submit their applications online through the e-portal before the deadline. No applications will be entertained after 5:00pm on November 20, according to the schedule released by the department.
