Teachers give felicitation event a miss

Ravneet Singh

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Tribune News Service

Patiala, October 7

A number of schoolteachers today gave the felicitation ceremony, held to honour teachers who delivered 100 per cent results in the May 2019 exams, a miss. The teachers were honoured by Education Minister Vijay Inder Singla and Member of Parliament Preneet Kaur in Samana and Patiala.

Those who did not go to receive the accolades said the Punjab Government had been treating them “more like an accused than teachers”. Raising concern, they said the government had reduced the salaries of 8,886 teachers for “regularisation of their jobs”, failed to provide facilities to computer teachers and lathicharged teachers during a protest near YPS Chowk.

Leaders of the Democratic Teachers Front and the SSA, RAMSATeachers Union, who organised a parallel programme to honour those who did not go to the government felicitation ceremony, said on the one hand, police cases were being registered against teachers, while on the other, the government had now started holding such programmes.

They said the teachers boycotted the programme.

Hardeep Todarpur, one of the leaders, said the certificates being given by the government to the teachers were “merely pieces of paper”.

He said, “The government transferred teachers to far-flung areas only to suppress their voice against the reduction in their salaries. Moreover, the protesting teachers were attacked with batons and water cannons.” He said the government should instead withdraw all police cases registered against the teachers, conduct a fair probe into the matter of financial irregularity in providing dresses to students and provide basic facilities at government schools in the state.

Preneet Kaur, Member of Parliament, at one such ceremony in Patiala, said the teachers should inspire students to keep their surroundings clean and plastic-free. Education Minister Vjay Inder Singla said the Punjab Government had decided to fill all seats lying vacant in schools. He said 15,000 teachers were being felicitated this year and the government would honour 30,000 teachers next year.