4 days after reprimanding Samana school principal and teachers, AAP MLA Jouramajra tenders apology

Former minister and AAP MLA Chetan Singh Jouramajra has tendered unconditional apology to teachers. Jouramajra had publicly reprimanded the principal and staff of School of Eminence (SoE) at Samana for mismanagement during the Sikhya Kranti programme on April 7.

Various unions of teachers, particularly Democratic Teachers Front (DTF), Punjab, were up in arms against the MLA and had issued a three-day ultimatum to him asking him to render an unconditional apology or face a statewide protest.

Jouramajra tendered the apology on the sidelines of an event held today.

He said," I had visited a school lately. If any teacher feels that I had stated something inappropriate, then I express my apology to all of them. The teachers are our masters (Guru). They show us the right path. If I said something inadvertently, I tender my unconditional apology to the entire teaching community," said Jouramajra, the video of which has gone viral.

Sources said that Jouramajra's comments came under immense scrutiny even from within the party as some leaders accused him of torpedoing the state government's much propagated Sikhya Kranti Programme.

In a 2.35-minute-long video, Jouramajra was seen apparently rattled when he was invited to address the gathering during the programme at 12 noon.

Soon after taking the stage at the Samana event, Jouramajra lambasted principal Harjot Kaur for mismanagement. “Your programme is a complete failure. Do you exercise any power over students or not? This is not a school. There is nothing to call it a school," said Jouramajra.

He admonished the school staff for lack of decorum, saying: “Tell me how many students and teachers are absent. Is this a planned programme? The children are not listening to you. How would you make them study? Those students who are strolling around, mark them absent. I will lodge a complaint with CM Mann and Education Minister Harjot Singh Bains. What else can one do when you can’t even arrange more chairs?”

Vikram Dev, state president, Democratic Teachers Front (DTF), said that the incident and subsequent public apology could have been avoided had Jouramajra showed some grace and maturity.

The incident had triggered a massive public outcry, pressing the MLA to tender the apology.

Education Minister Harjot Singh Bains had also expressed regret over the incident, said Dev.

Vikram Dev said that the union had decided to postpone the statewide effigy-burning programme scheduled for Friday.

The union has also demanded the calling off of the 54-day-long government drive, in a bid to reduce the political interference during the admission season.

Under the initiative, the government — till May 31 — is set to inaugurate infrastructure projects completed at around 12,000 schools of the state at a cost Rs 2,000 crore.

Jouramajra is no stranger to controversies. In 2022, Jouramajra, the then Health Minister, was involved in reprimanding Dr Raj Bahadur, the Vice Chancellor of Baba Farid University of Health Sciences in Faridkot. During an inspection, Jouramajra reportedly forced Dr Bahadur to lie on a damaged hospital mattress to highlight the poor conditions of the facility. This act led to significant backlash, with Dr. Bahadur resigning shortly thereafter, citing humiliation.