Teacher’s dedication saves govt school from closure

Sukhjinder Singh Heer, a retired teacher who fought for the survival of the government school located within the Central Jail premises at Gumtala, now known as Sri Guru Ramdas Urban State, was honoured by Deputy Commissioner Sakshi Sawhney here recently.

District Education Officer Kanwaljit Singh told the Deputy Commissioner that because of Sukhjinder Singh Heer, a school could be built again in the place of the Central Jail. “Since 2017, Heer has made a valuable contribution to the construction of the school. He had been teaching there and made sure that when the jail was relocated, the school building was not shifted, otherwise students would have had to suffer,” said Sukhjinder Singh.

The Deputy Commissioner thanked Sukhjinder Singh for his contribution and honoured him by presenting him a certificate of appreciation. The Deputy Commissioner said, “You are working for this school even after retirement. It shows the dedication towards your profession and towards the community,” she said.

It is worth mentioning that with the shift of the Central Jail from Gumtala, a decision was taken to remove the school running here, in which about 200 children were studying, to somewhere else because the school was built on the land under the jail complex.

This land had gone to PUDA to be sold after plotting and development. Sukhjinder Singh, with the help of all the officials who have come to the district since then, got the place for the school again and a beautiful school building was constructed there at a cost of about Rs 2.50 crore, which is almost ready for inauguration.