41% positions of block primary education officer vacant in state

Nearly 41 per cent posts of block primary education officer (BPEO) are lying vacant in the state, with Education Minister Harjot Bains’ home district Ropar being the worst hit with close to 90 per cent vacancy.

A BPEO plays a crucial role in the functioning of primary schools and each one of them looks after over 50 schools.

Government Teachers’ Union President Sukhwinder Singh Chahal said due to a shortage of BEPOs, the distribution of books, grants, and the functioning of educational schemes have been hit.

He said 93 positions are currently vacant in 228 education blocks of the state.

Apart from this, several BPEOs had been given additional charge of other blocks, he added.

Chahal said while the home district of the education minister was the worst hit with 90 per cent vacancy as nine of 10 posts there were lying vacant.

He said six out of seven positions were lying vacant in Bathinda, while in Hoshiarpur, 16 of 21 posts were yet to be filled.

He said three of nine positions were vacant in Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann’s home district Sangrur.

Chahal demanded that 75 per cent of the total posts should be filled by promotions and the rest through direct recruitment. The government should reverse the 2018 rules, wherein 50 per cent of the posts were required to be filled through direct recruitment, he added.

In Kapurthala, six of nine posts are vacant while Amritsar has 10 vacancies against 15 positions. Malerkotla has a three BPEO positions, of which two are vacant, while in Mansa, three of five positions are vacant. In Nawanshahar, four out of seven positions are lying vacant.

Reacting to it, a senior government functionary cited a Punjab and Haryana High Court stay on direct recruitments as reason behind it.