A large number of teachers in Pakistan's Punjab region boycotted the Training Need Assessment (TNA) test which was held on Saturday, fearing failure in the examination.

The examination aimed to assess the assess the training needs of teachers in the School Education Department (SED).

Earlier, several teachers’ unions and leaders had announced their intention to boycott the test.

Rana Sikandar Hayat, Punjab Minister for School and Higher Education, also confirmed low participation of teachers in the TNA test but praised those who attended, reported The News International.

He said those who participated in the examination averaged a score of 75.

Punjab Teachers Union general secretary Rana Liaqat told Dawn that only 80 teachers out of 43,000 appeared in the test in the province.

He said that 30 to 40 per cent of teachers could not use the android application on their phone and they were also not connected to any social media platform including Facebook and Whatsapp.

He said the teachers were directed to take tests three days ago and they did not have any internet facility in their schools.

He told the Pakistani newspaper that the government was planning to privatise the schools and had already ‘sold’ 13,000 schools and would remove the teachers from jobs who could not pass the test.

He said the teachers should have been given time to prepare for the test and already the government was not regularising 14,000 educators and they had been protesting for many years.

In a video message, Punjab Minister for School Education Rana Sikandar Hayat said the unions were trying to misguide the teachers.