Call to withdraw TET as condition for promotion in Punjab

Government Teachers Union Punjab State president Sukhwinder Singh Chahal, general secretary Gurbinder Singh Saskaur, finance secretary Manohar Lal Sharma and press secretary Karnail Phillaur said the department’s letter issued through the Director, School Education, Punjab Promotion Cell, making TET mandatory for the promotions of the Master Cadre, is unscientific.

The leaders have demanded that the teachers who have received promotions in the Master Cadre in the past in the Education Department should be made to join after conducting station selection. They said it is pointless to impose the condition of passing TET on teachers who have been recruited before 2011, due to which many senior teachers will be deprived of promotions.

They said the condition of TET must not be applied to the previous recruitments now.

They further said the meaning of promotion is based on experience and length of service. The Education Department is interpreting the rules of the Supreme Court not for education reforms, but to cause trouble to teachers, while refraining from implementing pro-teacher decisions of many other high courts.

State senior vice-president Tirath Singh Bassi, Kuldeep Singh Purowal, Gurpreet Singh Amiwal and vice-president Harinder Mallian, Rachpal Singh Waraich, Gurdeep Bajwa said a meeting of teacher organisations were held with officials of the department. They asked the government to withdraw such a letter and promote teachers without the TET condition.

They warned of fierce struggle in the coming days if the government did not withdraw the decisions. Rajesh Amloh from Fatehgarh Sahib, Dharminder Singh Bhangu from Ropar, Pritpal Chotala from Hoshiarpur, Jasvir Talwara from Jalandhar, Sukhwinder Makkar from Moga, Judge Pal Baje Ke from Gurdaspur, Dildar Bhandal from Muktsar Sahib, Manjit Singh Brar from Amritsar, Sucha Singh Tarpai from Amritsar, Harvinder Singh Sultanwind from Sangrur, among others were present.