Jalandhar: Parents and the panchayat locked up a government school due to a shortage of teachers.

Jalandhar: Residents, parents, and members of the village panchayat locked the government high school in Haripur Khalsa village today. They staged a protest on the road against the shortage of staff at the school. The protesters included parents of students, members of the village panchayat, and members of the school management committee. The protesters demanded more teachers for the school ahead of the board examinations. The protest coincided with a parent-teacher meeting and a “discussion on examinations” held at the school today. The school in Haripur Khalsa village, located on the Nurmahal-Phillaur road, has 108 students and five teachers. Earlier, a teacher of Class VI, who was formally on the school’s rolls, was transferred to a school in Sangrur. Ashok Kumar, a member of the school managing committee, said, “My own children study in Classes VI and X at this school. We have been able to upgrade the school’s infrastructure with the help of NRIs and donors.
In the last one year, due to our efforts, 30 students from my neighborhood have shifted from private schools to this school. But if there are no teachers in the school, how will the students study?” Kumar added, “Of the five teachers in the school, two are frequently away on Booth Level Officer (BLO) duty. Last month, an English teacher was transferred to a middle school. The school was already short-staffed. Despite this, the remaining staff is being transferred to other schools. A few days ago, we also raised this issue with the District Education Officer, but received no response. Without teachers, how will the students prepare for the board examinations?” Sources said that the school administration had written to the education department before the transfer of the English teacher. The school currently has no teachers for English, Punjabi, and Hindi subjects. The Social Studies and Computer teachers are also deployed on BLO duty. Gurinderjit Kaur, District Education Officer (DEO), Secondary, Jalandhar, said, “We have written to the education department regarding the shortage of teachers at the school. Temporary teachers will be deployed at the school as soon as possible. I will explore all options to address the staff shortage at the school.”