Protest erupts over new cluster system in primary edu

Hundreds of government primary teachers from Nurpur, Raja Ka Talab and Kotla elementary education blocks staged a protest at Nurpur on Sunday, opposing the Education Department’s September 23 notification introducing a new cluster system in primary education.

Led by local Primary Teachers’ Associations, the agitated teachers marched through the town’s markets holding placards and raising slogans against what they termed a “dictatorial and anti-teacher decision”.

The associations also submitted a memorandum to Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu through the local SDM, demanding immediate withdrawal of the notification. The memorandum stated that the new system was not only against the interests of teachers but would also harm the quality of primary education in government schools.

The teachers recalled that on November 29, 2023, the Education Department had issued a similar notification, which was later revised on February 13, 2024, limiting the cluster system to resource sharing only after teachers’ objections. At that time, the department had also agreed to give administrative control of classes Nursery to V to Head Teachers, Central Head Teachers, and Block Elementary Education Officers (BEEOs).

However, under the new notification, the entire administrative control of primary schools has been transferred to Principals of Senior Secondary Schools, a move the association says is detrimental to primary teachers’ autonomy and morale.

“The creation of two separate administrative units will only lead to confusion and instability in the primary education system,” the memorandum stated. Meanwhile, primary teachers from Jawali and Nagrota Surian blocks also staged a simultaneous protest at Jawali, voicing strong opposition to the cluster system and demanding that the notification be revoked.