EXPLORING CHALLENGES FACED BY NOVICE TEACHERS AT GOVERNMENT PRIMARY SCHOOLS IN TEHSIL MASTUJ, DISTRICT UPPER CHITRAL

Abstract

This study examines the challenges faced by novice teachers during their first three years of teaching in government primary schools in Tehsil Mastuj, District Upper Chitral. Novice teachers at primary level often face many difficulties in their early years. The main objectives of the study were to identify managing multi-grade classrooms, handling student behaviour, and dealing with administrative tasks encountered by novice teachers. The population of the study was 50 novice teachers who are serving at the Government Primary Schools in Tehsil Mastuj District Upper Chitral having three or less than three years of teaching experience. A self-developed questionnaire was used to collect data from the sample size of 44 novice teachers by using simple random sampling about these challenges. The collected data were analyzed using appropriate descriptive statistical techniques. The findings reveal that novice teachers face significant difficulties in managing multi-grade classrooms, planning lessons for diverse learning levels, and maintaining classroom discipline. Student-related problems such as lack of attention, irregular attendance, and disruptive behavior further increase the instructional burden. In addition, having workload, limited professional guidance, inadequate training opportunities and weak administrative support were identified as major barriers to effective teaching. Based on these findings, the study recommends the provision of structured mentoring programs, regular professional development opportunities and improved administrative and institutional support to help novice teachers adjust successfully to their professional roles, particularly in rural and under-resourced primary schools. The study contributes to the understanding of contextual difficulties in remote educational settings and highlights areas for policy and practice improvement.