DTF protests govt’s move to close govt middle schools

Tarn Taran, March 6

Teachers of government schools across the district under the banner of Democratic Teachers Front (DTF) burnt copies of Punjab Budget to protest against announcement by the Finance Minister to close down government middle schools in the state.

Partap Singh Thathgarh and Kashmir Singh Chohla, president and general secretary of the district unit of DTF, while addressing a meeting on the occasion, called the government’s step as anti-teacher and against the education system. The DTF leaders said with this step, the future of 2,670 government middle schools with more than 13,000 teachers and lakhs of students appeared to be bleak.

The leaders said the employees have been sideline in the Budget, paving way for the private sector. The leaders said that even the ‘School of Eminence‘ was a kind of discrimination with the students. The leaders said that the government wanted to provide education just to two to four per cent of society to facilitate the entry of private sector. The leaders said that in spite of providing better facilities to all the 19,200 schools, the state government has adopted just 118 school under the cover of better facilities.