Computer teachers to protest today

Jalandhar, February 25

As the bypoll for Jalandhar Lok Sabha is due shortly, the computer teachers of government schools from across the state have decided to hold a massive protest march in the city on Sunday against the AAP government over the their long-pending demands.

Want to be brought under Edu Dept

Teachers are demanding that the government should bring them under the Punjab Government Service Rule, implement 6th Pay Commission and merge them with the Education Department, instead of keeping them under the Punjab Information and Communication Technology Education Society (PICTES), which is also a Punjab Government body. There are around 7,100 computer teachers as the government had introduced the computer subject in the schools in 2005.

Over 1,000 computer teachers from all districts will gather outside the District Administrative Complex, and from there, they will take out a protest march in the city, covering BMC Chowk, Skylark Chowk, Press Club Chowk and other areas.

Teachers are demanding from the government to bring them under the Punjab Government Service Rule, implement 6th Pay Commission and merge them with the Education Department directly, instead of keeping them under the Punjab Information and Communication Technology Education Society (PICTES), which is also a Punjab Government body.

A zoom meeting was held in this regard today under the leadership of Baljinder Singh Fatehpur, the state president of the Computer Teachers’ Union, Punjab.

Teachers said the government had been dodging them over their demands ever since they were recruited. There are around 7,100 computer teachers as the government had introduced the computer subject in the schools in 2005.

All district presidents and state committee members decided that while protesting against the Punjab Government, they would also distribute pamphlets to expose the AAP government’s hollow promises and assurances given to them from time to time.

The union’s senior vice-president Harjit Singh Sandhu, vice-president Anil Airi, vice-president Ekamaukar Singh and vice-president Sikandar Singh, jointly said even after holding several meetings with Education Minister Harjot Singh Bains and Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema, the demands haven’t been met.

They said Bains had promised to meet all our demands last Diwali, but the promise remained on paper only.

The state patron of the association, Gurwinder Singh Tarn Taran, accused the government of adopting an indifferent attitude towards teachers who have already passed away. “More than 100 computer teachers have died in the past 15 years. However, the government has neither given any financial support to their families nor given jobs to their dependents after their death. They are forced to live a miserable life in this rising inflation,” he said.

Parminder Singh Ghuman and Harpreet Singh, both general secretaries, said in July 2011, the Punjab Government had regularised the services of computer teachers under the Punjab Civil Services Rules, but to date, no benefits of regularisation have been given to computer teachers, including benefits as per recommendations of the 6th Pay Commission, while all other employees of the Punjab Government have been brought under it.