Jalandhar: Thousands of teachers from various Punjab government-aided schools, many of whom have not received their salaries for the past nine to eighteen months, are scheduled to protest against the government’s “anti-teacher policies” in Tarn Taran on October 18th. The demonstration, which will take place during the by-elections, will be led by the state president of the Aided School Teachers’ Association, Gurmeet Singh Madnipur, and state secretary, Sharanjit Singh Kadimajra. Announcing the protest, the association’s district president, Monika Sharma, said that teachers in the ‘C&V’ category have been waiting for their salaries for 18 months, while other employees have not received their salaries for the past nine months. She further said, “Despite repeated meetings with officials and ministers of the Education and Finance departments, no grants have been released for salary disbursement.” She alleged that the department has withheld the grants under the pretext of auditing school management committees. Sharma further said, “The Education Department neither has adequate audit staff nor enough academic officers to conduct audits. Teachers are bearing the brunt of this administrative vacuum.” The union also claimed that this is the first time since 1967 that the Punjab government has withheld salary grants, citing audit formalities. Accusing the government of conspiring to close aided schools, Sharma said that employees are being forced to celebrate festivals like Dussehra and Diwali without pay. Urging the Punjab Human Rights Commission to fix responsibility for the salary delays, he said, “The government, which is carrying out the so-called ‘education revolution,’ is unable to even ensure that teachers receive their salaries. This is inhuman and an insult to the educated class.” District Secretary Balwinder Kaur said that teachers teaching approximately 1.76 lakh students in aided schools are facing financial hardship. She said, “It is shameful that teachers – who are shaping the future of our children – are forced to go hungry on Diwali. The government is solely responsible for this.” The union leaders announced that they would “expose the government’s false promises before the people” during the Tarn Taran by-election on October 18.
Jalandhar: Teachers to protest today over pending salaries
