Once torchbearers, aided schools struggle for survival

Government-aided schools—once beacons of hope—are now struggling for survival due to the step-motherly treatment from the state government.

Teachers in these schools have not been paid for up to six months due to the government’s failure to release grants. Furthermore, grants for the C and V cadres have been pending for over 16 months, leaving school staff in limbo.

The Aided School Teachers and Employees Union claims that top officials from the Education and Finance Departments have become unreachable and the Education Minister has paid little attention to the crisis facing aided schools. The government’s repeated demands for income and expenditure accounts from schools, already submitted year after year, have further exacerbated the situation. There are also reports that inspection teams may be sent to schools, raising fears that this could be a prelude to their closure.

In the pre-independence era, education was a luxury for many, especially in rural areas. However, after independence, 512 aided schools were established across Punjab, some over 100 years old, with contributions from the local population to ensure education for all, especially disadvantaged children. These schools became the foundation for the education of several prominent leaders and personalities, including Shaheed Kartar Singh Sarabha, Shaheed Udham Singh, Lala Lajpat Rai and modern-day achievers like Harmanpreet Singh, captain of India’s Asia Cup-winning hockey team, as well as several Punjab Ministers, MPs, and army officers.

In 1967, these schools were included under the Delhi Pattern Grant-in-Aid scheme by the government led by Chief Minister Lachhman Singh Gill, ensuring financial stability. However, the situation began to deteriorate in 2003 when the Captain Amarinder Singh government imposed a ban on filling grant-in-aid posts. Since then, aided schools have struggled with severe financial strain, unable to hire new staff as retired teachers are not replaced. Schools have been forced to hire temporary staff at their own expense, with no government support, adding a huge financial burden.

Despite the ongoing crisis, the state government claims to be driving an educational revolution. Gurmeet Singh Madnipur, State President of the Punjab State Government Aided School Teachers and Other Employees Union, has strongly criticised the government’s neglect. “If this step-motherly treatment continues, we will be forced to take action,” he warned, urging the Punjab government to release the much-needed grants for the schools.

The government’s recent decision to deduct the surplus income of school managements from the grants allocated for teachers’ salaries has raised alarms. Madnipur argues that such a move will leave insufficient funds for essential services like infrastructure, sports, and co-curricular activities, negatively affecting the education of 1.76 lakh students across aided schools.

Madnipur also pointed out that other states such as Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh and Haryana have successfully integrated aided schools into their government systems, urging Punjab to follow suit. He emphasised that the immediate release of grants is necessary to prevent further deterioration and ensure that teachers and employees, who have been waiting for their salaries for up to six months, are finally paid.

As the crisis deepens, the voices of teachers, pensioners and school management committees continue to grow louder. The question remains—will the Punjab government act to save these historic institutions, or will they become a thing of the past, a forgotten chapter in Punjab’s educational history?