Punjab: School teachers demonstrated in front of the Speaker’s residence

Punjab: Hundreds of government school teachers from across the state today staged a protest outside the residence of Assembly Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan. The protest was organised by the Samyukta Shikshak Morcha Punjab and Democratic Teachers Front. The protesters criticised the government’s promotion policy and alleged anomalies in the allocation of school stations during promotions. They highlighted that many stations are not being officially listed, forcing promoted teachers to accept postings far from their home districts. The protesters alleged that many teachers who were promoted after waiting for years (ETT to Master cadre, PTI to DPE and Master to Lecturer) are being transferred to far-off stations due to lack of transparency in vacancies.

They also raised concerns about the salary cuts of physical training and drawing teachers as well as the plan to merge 2,400 middle schools into high schools, which they claim could jeopardise the education of rural students. Teachers of meritorious schools expressed discontent over the lack of regularisation of their services, while teachers of C, V and C grades are allegedly being downgraded. The protesters demanded restoration of the old pension scheme and 37 allowances, including rural allowance, which were earlier cut. They also demanded payment of three instalments of dearness allowance and arrears pending for five years for Punjab employees and pensioners. The protest ended after the teachers received a written assurance of a meeting with the education minister on January 14 to discuss their grievances and demands. The teachers said they would continue their struggle if their issues remained unresolved.