Operations
What Should Be in Every Teacher's File? A Checklist for Pakistani Schools
When a school hires a teacher, someone collects a stack of photocopies: a CNIC, a degree, a couple of experience letters. They go into a folder, the folder goes into a cupboard, and nobody looks at it again until an inspection, a dispute or a resignation. At that point the contract cannot be found, the degree copy is unreadable, and nobody knows when the teacher's probation ended. A good personnel file is not complicated. It needs the right documents, a place where the right people can find them, and dates on the few that run out.
Identity and contact
- A copy of the CNIC, front and back
- Recent photographs
- Current address and phone number, and an emergency contact
- Bank account details for salary, if salaries are paid by transfer
Qualifications and experience
Many schools also ask for a character certificate or police verification, particularly for staff who work with young children. Decide your own policy and apply it to everyone, rather than asking some staff and not others.
- Degrees and transcripts the teacher was hired on, and any teaching qualification such as a B.Ed
- Experience letters from previous schools
- References, and a note of who checked them and when
- Any training certificates the school has paid for or relies on
Employment
Keep old contracts when a new one is signed. The old contract is the record of what was agreed at the time, and it is often the document that settles a disagreement later.
- The appointment letter or employment contract, signed by both sides
- The date probation ends, and the letter confirming the appointment afterwards
- Every revised contract or salary letter, kept alongside the original rather than replacing it
- Any signed code of conduct or child protection policy
- Leave records, warnings or commendations, if your school keeps them on file
The documents that need a date
A few documents in a teacher's file run out: a fixed-term contract, a probation period, a medical certificate, a CNIC. A file that does not record those dates cannot warn anyone. Note the expiry date when the document is filed, and check once a month which dates fall in the next few weeks. That habit alone prevents most of the awkward conversations about contracts that ended months ago without anyone noticing.
Who should see the file
A personnel file holds identity documents, salaries and sometimes disciplinary notes. Fewer people should see it than usually do. Decide which admins need access, give it to them and nobody else, and keep a clear line between the school's file on a teacher and anything shared with the teacher themselves.
Where Edflo fits
Edflo's Documents keeps these files in the admin panel, filed against the staff member and shown on their profile, in 9 categories from contracts and degrees to identity and medical records. Give a document an expiry date and it is flagged 30 days before, and one filter shows everything expired or expiring. Documents is off by default for every admin, the principal included, and is given to each one deliberately. Teachers never see it, so a teacher cannot see the school's file on them.
Key takeaways
- Keep identity, qualifications, experience and employment documents for every teacher.
- Keep old contracts when new ones are signed; they record what was agreed at the time.
- Record expiry dates for contracts, probation, medical certificates and CNICs, and check them monthly.
- Limit who can see personnel files, and keep the school's file separate from what the teacher sees.
Frequently asked questions
What documents should a school keep for each teacher?
At minimum: a CNIC copy, photographs, contact and emergency details, degrees and transcripts, experience letters, references, the signed appointment letter or contract, and every later revision of it. Many schools also keep a character certificate or police verification and a medical fitness certificate.
Should a school keep a teacher's old contract after a new one is signed?
Yes. The old contract records what was agreed at the time. Replacing it loses that record, and it is often the document that settles a later disagreement about pay, notice or duties.
Which teacher documents expire?
Fixed-term contracts, probation periods, medical certificates and CNICs all have dates that matter. Record each date when the document is filed and check monthly which ones fall in the coming weeks.
Can teachers see their own file in Edflo?
No. Documents is in the admin panel only, and only for admins who have been given access. The school's file on a teacher is kept separate from anything shared with the teacher.