Punjab teachers demand regular jobs, allege AAP govt backtracked on its promise

Bathinda, July 27

Scores of teachers working on a contractual basis today staged protest at the Education Department’s office in Bathinda and demanded regularisation of their services. The teachers also protested in other districts to express their resentment.

The agitating teachers rued that ahead of the 2022 Assembly poll, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) had promised to regularise their services and told that the decision in this regard would be taken in the first Cabinet meeting, but nothing has happened so far.

Protesters Gherao Cabinet minister

• A large number of contractual teachers on Wednesday gheraoed Cabinet Minister Fauja Singh Sarari during his maiden visit to Fazilka district
• The protesting teachers blocked the main gate of the District Administrative Complex, where Sarari was presiding over a meeting with officials
• Gagan Kaur, chief, Kutcha Adhyapak Union, said the teachers working on a contractual basis since 2003 were being paid Rs 3,500 to Rs 6,000 per month

Veerpal Kaur, a contractual teacher, said, “Not just the regularisation of services, the AAP leaders also stated that as long as the policy is not formulated, teachers will get a monthly salary of

Rs 36,000 on the Delhi pattern. It has been almost five months since the AAP came to power in the state, but the government has not taken any concrete steps to regularise our services.”

Daljit Singh, another contractual teacher, said, “If our demands are not met, we will gherao the Chief Minister’s residence in Sunam on July 31. We have submitted a memorandum to the CM. All contractual teachers must be inducted as per the new policy and our services should be regularised. The government must bear our medical expenses as well.”