47% high schools in state without headmaster

Nearly 47 per cent of the 1,723 government high schools in the state do not have a headmaster.

Close on the heels of a survey revealing that 44 per cent of the senior secondary schools in the state do not have a principal, a survey was carried out by the Government Teachers Union, which has found that 810 of the 1,723 posts of headmaster are lying vacant in high schools in the state.

Sharing details of the survey, union president Sukhwinder Singh Chahal said in the case of Tarn Taran, 81 of the 96 posts of headmaster were vacant followed by Nawanshahr, where 81 per cent of the posts were vacant.

In Mohali, considered a VIP station, only 10 per cent of the posts are vacant.

“The post of headmaster at Government High School, Hamirgarh, Sangrur, has been lying vacant for the past 30 years. Apart from taking classes, headmasters are responsible for the overall control of the schools,” he said.

Of the over 19,200 government schools in the state, 1,723 are high schools. Interestingly, the Majha and Doaba regions have a higher vacancy rate as compared to Malwa. The problem of shortage of headmasters started after the Education Department, under the previous Capt Amarinder Singh-led Congress government in 2018, changed the rules and kept 50 per cent quota for direct appointment of principals and the remaining through promotion of headmasters/lecturers. Previously, the direct recruitment quota was 25 per cent, while the remaining positions were filled through promotion.

A senior government functionary said the matter regarding the direct recruitment was pending with the Punjab and Haryana High Court. “The government should amend the 2018 promotion rules to clear the backlog of promotional posts of headmaster,” said Chahal.