Assistant professors, librarians stage sit-in

Jalandhar, July 2

A large number of assistant professors and librarians, under the banner of the 1,158 Assistant Professors and Librarians Front, Punjab, (Government College), staged a protest at the BMC Chowk here today. Holding placards and banners, the protesters demanded fair recruitment practices.

The police were deployed to manage the crowd and maintain law and order. The protesters were allocated a designated space at a corner of the chowk where they peacefully staged their sit-in.

One of the protesters said the High Court had cancelled the recruitment process for assistant professors and librarians in government colleges.

“The government did not follow up the case properly in the court. After the court’s decision, there was no supportive statement from the state government for the affected candidates,” he said.

After a fruitless meeting with Education Minister Harjot Bains, members of the front said they organised a sit-in at his village, Gambhirpur (Sri Anandpur Sahib), last year. They said the protest continued for over 10 months, with several meetings with the Education Minister, but it failed to yield any result.

“The government failed to present the Advocate General in the High Court or take any substantive action to complete the recruitment process,” a protester said.

Last year, Balwinder Kaur, an assistant professor, had committed suicide by jumping into a canal allegedly blaming Minister Harjot Bains in her suicide note. Despite this, the government appears indifferent to their plight, the protesters said.

Jaswinder Kaur, convener of the front, also went on a hunger strike atop a water tank at Dher village for several days. On the eighth day, the Education Minister assured to address the issue, but to no avail.

“If the Chief Minister does not heed to our demands, we will intensify our protest and hold a hunger strike, she said.