Teachers’ union raises questions over expenses incurred on laying foundation stones in schools

Members of the Government Teachers Union (GTU) Punjab have raised questions over the large scale expenditure incurred on laying of foundation stones in the name of “Sikhiya Kranti” (education revolution) in the state.

“Under this initiative, the Punjab Government wants to earn praise by laying foundation stones for the renovation of toilets, but this has become a joke among the people,” said leaders of the GTU today.

They said Bhagwant Mann’s government, which used to poke fun at previous governments, was itself being ridiculed by various teachers’ organisations which were continuously opposing this “false revolution”.

GTU Punjab state president Sukhwinder Singh Chahal, general secretary Gurbinder Singh Saskaur, finance secretary Amandeep Sharma and press secretary Karnail Phillaur said the government had withdrawn the decision to lay foundation stone of toilets. They said many teachers had already spent from their pockets for these foundation stones that were to be laid.

They demanded that the money spent by teachers should be credited to their bank accounts immediately and the initiative in the name of education revolution should be stopped. The union condemned the state government for spending Rs 25 crore in schools by holding campaigns.