Ludhiana: Teachers hold statewide protest, slam government over unmet promises

Government school teachers from across the state gathered outside Punjab Agricultural University for a statewide protest rally on Wednesday. The demonstration was led by various teachers' unions, including the Democratic Teachers' Front (DTF) Punjab, 6635 ETT Teachers Union, 4161 Master Cadre Union, and others. Terming the policies of the Punjab government as discriminatory and unjust, the teachers accused the government of turning its back on them, claiming that the tall claims of bringing an 'Education revolution' now appear to be hollow.
The agitated teachers raised various issues, such as job insecurity after being removed from recruitment lists, exclusion from transfer processes, failure to regularise meritorious school staff, non-implementation of old pension schemes, pending promotions, blocked allowances, and pay scale disparities. They slammed the government for issuing termination notices to teachers whose futures remain uncertain due to faulty recruitment decisions.
The protest saw participation from teachers working hundreds of kilometers away from their hometowns who were denied even basic transfer opportunities after promotions.They demanded the implementation of a court decision regarding providing full pay to 5,178 teachers during probation and regularisation of 7,654 Hindi subject educators and open distance learning teachers. The termination order of Ravinder Kamboj and delay in regular orders for several cadres were highlighted as examples of deep-rooted injustice.
'Ravinder was appointed on a contractual basis in 2013 and was due for regularisation in 2016. However, he was abruptly terminated in 2015 on the grounds that his postgraduate degree was not in the relevant subject. In a major relief, the Punjab and Haryana high court ruled in his favour in February this year, ordering the state government to regularise his services. Despite the court's directive, the government has failed to act, and Kamboj continues to work on a meagre monthly salary of ₹10,300 — the same since his initial appointment in 2013,' explained DTF president Vikram Dev Singh.
Union leaders, including Vikram Dev Singh, Tina, Gaurav Sharma, and others addressed the protestors, demanding cancellation of direct recruitment orders for principals and block primary education officers (BPEOs) and restoration of 25% direct recruitment and 75% promotion quota.
They further pressed for pay scale revisions for physical training instructors and art and craft teachers, regular jobs for contract and volunteer teachers, restoration of blocked rural and border allowances, and immediate fulfilment of all pending teacher promotions and recruitments. As tensions rose during the protest march, a brief scuffle broke out with the police. 'Our rally concluded as we have been assured meetings with the education secretary on June 13 and the chief minister on June 18 by the district administration officials,' said Vikram.
'This protest sent a clear message. Punjab's teachers are no longer willing to be silent victims of broken promises,' said Deepak Kamboj, state president of the 6635 ETT Teachers' Union.

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