Weeks after HC clears promotions, Punjab yet to fill principal posts in 1,150 schools

The recent decision by the Punjab and Haryana High Court to vacate the interim stay on promotions of lecturer and headmaster cadre officials to the posts of principals in government senior secondary schools has revived hopes of filling long-pending vacancies in Punjab. However, weeks after the court order, the Education Department is yet to initiate the promotion process, leaving around 1,150 government senior secondary schools without regular principals.

The delay has drawn criticism from the Democratic Teachers Front (DTF), which has been highlighting the issue of vacant principal posts since last year. DTF state president Vikram Dev Singh said the organisation had raised concerns over the administrative disruption caused by the absence of principals through a report released early last year.

“The report highlighted that 44 per cent of principal posts in government senior secondary schools were lying vacant. During the tenure of the Punjab AAP government, which claims to have brought an ‘education revolution’, these vacancies have now increased to over 55 per cent. Yet, the government appears to be in no hurry to address the issue,” he said.

DTF members across districts, including Amritsar, have termed the delay a failure of the Education Department. They attributed the prolonged vacancy crisis to frequent policy changes, the Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) dispute and subsequent procedural bottlenecks.

“The government revised the recruitment policy from a 50:50 ratio to 75:25, under which 75 per cent of principal posts were to be filled through promotions and the remaining 25 per cent through direct recruitment. The decision raised hopes among senior lecturers, master cadre teachers and others awaiting promotion. However, the process came to a halt after the High Court granted an interim stay,” said Ashwani Awasthi, district president, DTF, Amritsar.

He added that the legal uncertainty was resolved after the High Court observed that the absence of principals was affecting the functioning of government schools and vacated the stay, paving the way for promotions.

“Despite the court’s decision, weeks have passed and the department has made no visible progress in filling the vacancies,” he said.

The promotion process had stalled after multiple petitions challenged the revised recruitment policy. Petitioners argued that candidates aspiring to become school principals must possess the mandatory TET qualification.

Although the High Court allowed the promotions in the larger interest of schools, the process continues to be delayed due to the finalisation of seniority lists and disposal of administrative objections related to eligible senior lecturers.

The DTF has demanded that the government expedite promotions of eligible lecturers and headmasters to the posts of principals and simultaneously initiate direct recruitment by issuing advertisements for the remaining 25 per cent vacancies.