College teachers unpaid for five months, union to protest on June 14

Teachers from 136 aided colleges in Punjab have been without salaries for the past four months, forcing them to take a stand against the government's negligence in disbursing their payments and overdue arrears.

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The Punjab College Teachers’ Union (PCCTU) has warned the Secretary of Higher Education of impending protests due to the wilful delay in disbursing the salary grants and arrears to these 136 teachers. Dr Vinay Sophat, Vice President, AIFUCTO, and Executive Member, PCCTU, expressed deep frustration and concern over the unprecedented delay in the matter. He said despite repeated attempts to reach out to the secretary, she had failed to respond. He added that teachers had been without salaries for over four months and 80 colleges had received grants

only up to January and 55 up to February.

Prof SS Randhawa, General Secretary, PCCTU, condemned the government's inaction, questioning its claims of prioritising education. “Teachers have endured financial hardship for months, unable to sustain themselves without salaries. The Punjab Government has completely ignored the plight of educators in aided colleges, leaving them in severe financial distress. The AAP government has proven no different, offering empty assurances while failing to support those responsible for shaping the future,” Randhawa added.

Dr Seema Jaitley, President, PCCTU, demanded immediate government intervention to resolve the matter. “The authorities must take prompt action to release salary grants and arrears. To protest the inefficiency of Punjab’s Higher Education Department, PCCTU will stage a sit-in outside the residence of AAP candidate for Ludhiana (West), Sanjeev Arora, on June 14 at 11 am. The demonstration will highlight how government negligence has forced

educators into financial ruin,” she added.