Appoint ETT teachers without further delay, says DTF

Accusing the state government of slow-pedalling on the issue of recruitment and station allotment to ETT teachers, the Democratic Teachers’ Front demanded that the completion of ETT appointment must be done on priority basis, without any further delay.

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Holding a meeting in support of the 2,364 ETT teachers who have been protesting in front of the office of Education Department, Punjab, in Mohali since August 20, the Democratic Teachers’ Front said that recruitment was continuously being postponed by successive governments in state. “Even now, the Education Department issued the station selection schedule for the selected ETT teachers on September 17, which was later rejected. Later, it was announced that only border district stations will open for this recruitment. This has further delayed the appointments,” said Ashwani Awasthi, DTF head, Amritsar unit.

Till 2023, the state had high vacancy in ETT cadre, with most primary schools functioning under severe shortage of teachers. Some schools in the rural belt of Chogawan, Ajnala and Tarn Taran have three to five teachers tending to student strength of more than 500. “The appointment of ETTs is being done at a slow pace, while schools have been facing a shortage of teachers for the last five years. Instead of completing the recruitment, the government and the Education Department are continuously postponing the recruitment. Several ETT teachers, who had cleared the tests and recruitment process, are unemployed, waiting for the appointment procedure to get completed,” said DTF state president Vikram Dev Singh.