Education Tribunal posts vacant despite Punjab and Haryana High Court order, litigants suffer

Deepkamal Kaur

Jalandhar, June 23

Faculty members of several privately managed schools and colleges across Punjab, who are involved in a legal fight with their managements, are a harassed lot as the Education Tribunal has not been functioning for the past several months.

Employee cannot be made to suffer

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The HC has observed that an employee cannot be made to suffer due to the government’s laxity in appointing Education Tribunal’s chairman and member. The court had even directed that the order’s copy be placed before the Punjab Higher Education Secretary for making necessary appointments.

The posts of the chairman and a member of the tribunal are lying vacant. There is just one member on board but he cannot decide cases owing to incomplete quorum.

The appointment of the chairman and member has been delayed despite the fact that the Punjab and Haryana High Court (HC) in November last year directed the state of Punjab to make necessary appointments, setting a three-week deadline for it.

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We have already issued an advertisement and candidates are being shortlisted. The CM can make appointments any time. In the last Vidhan Sabha session, we amended the Punjab Privately Managed Recognised Schools Employees (Security of Service) Act. Now, a single member can preside over as judge to reduce pendency of cases. Harjot Bains, Education Minister

Taking up the matter of a school employee whose services had been terminated and his case was pending in the Tribunal, the HC had observed: “An employee cannot be made to suffer owing to the government’s laxity in appointing Education Tribunal’s chairman and member.” The court had even directed that the order’s copy be placed before the Punjab Higher Education Secretary to look into the matter and make necessary appointments.

A Jalandhar-based applicant said, “My petition regarding suspension orders by the school management are pending with the Education Tribunal for more than seven months. My case has not been heard even once. I have been forced to sit at home as the government has not filled the tribunal posts.”

A college lecturer, who too is in a litigation with the management over the issue of wages, said, “I have even written to the state government seeking early appointments to the tribunal. My lawyer has been telling me that the case would get delayed for a long time even if appointments are made soon as case pendency is very high.”

Education Minister Harjot Bains said, “We have already issued an advertisement and candidates are being shortlisted. The CM can make appointments any time. In the last Vidhan Sabha session, we amended the Punjab Privately Managed Recognised Schools Employees (Security of Service) Act. Now, a single member can preside over as judge to reduce pendency of cases.”