PTI union protests recruitment notification in Amritsar

The Unemployed Physical Education Teachers’ Union staged a protest today at Hall Gate, Amritsar, by burning copies of the Punjab School Education Department’s gazette notification, regarding the recruitment of 2,000 PTI teachers. The union condemned the notification as inaccurate and unfair for qualified Bachelor of Physical Education (BPEd) candidates.

“The Punjab School Education Department is under a question mark for inconsistencies in the recruitment process for physical education teachers. The recently published gazette notification for hiring 2,000 PTI teachers has caused significant distress among the unemployed BPEd graduates, who now fear for their future prospects, said union president Saurav Rai.

General secretary of union Shilpa stated that in 2023, applications were invited for PTI teachers, allowing candidates with CPEd, DPEd and BPEd qualifications to apply. However, after two years of waiting, the newly published notification has now excluded thousands of BPEd qualified candidates from recruitment process.

Saurav Rai highlighted that recruitment of physical education teachers has been long overdue. The hiring of 168 DPE teachers remains pending, and no PTI teachers have been recruited in the last 20 years. The union leaders questioned whether Punjab’s education system lacks competent officials who can rectify errors in job notifications before its release. They referenced the 2012 and 2016 double bench rulings of the High Court, which deemed BPEd graduates eligible for PTI teachers’ recruitment.

The protesting aspirants have demanded that candidates with BPE, BPEd and MPEd degrees, obtained before the notification’s revision date, be included in the recruitment process. They have urged Punjab Education Minister Harjot Singh Bains to amend the gazette notification promptly to allow BPEd candidates to apply. Ensuring qualified educators in the primary education system is crucial for maintaining high teaching standards, they said.

The union has also warned that if their demands are ignored, intense statewide protests will follow and they will boycott the Aam Aadmi Party in the 2027 state Assembly elections.