Educators protest in Sangrur over unfulfilled appointments
Members of the ‘1158 Assistant Professors and Librarians Front, Punjab’ staged a protest march in Sangrur today, demanding the completion of the recruitment process for 1158 posts of assistant professors and librarians in government colleges. The protest, which was joined by various organisations, including BKU (Ekta-Ugrahan), BKU Dakaunda (Dhaner), Kirti Kisan Union, Jamhuri Kisan Sabha, All India Kisan Sabha, CITU, Krantikari Pendu Mazdoor Union, and DTF Punjab, began at the DC office complex and ended at Mahavir Chowk, near the Civil Hospital. Following the march, a rally was held near the residence of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on the Sangrur-Patiala main road.
Protest leaders emphasised that their primary demand was the appointment of the remaining 411 assistant professors and librarians, who are still waiting to be assigned to government colleges. The recruitment process, which began with the filling of 1158 posts, has seen 607 assistant professors already appointed, but 344 assistant professors and 67 librarians are still awaiting their appointments.
Jaspreet Singh Sivian, a key leader of the protest, stated that the march’s main objective was to urge the state government to fulfill its commitment and appoint the remaining selected candidates. “We will continue our fight until all the selected candidates are appointed and the recruitment process is completed,” said Paramjit Singh, another protest leader.
The protesters pointed to a Punjab and Haryana High Court ruling from September 23, 2024, which had cleared the way for the recruitment of the remaining 411 candidates.
Jaspreet Kaur, a spokesperson for the protesters, highlighted that out of a total of 1091 assistant professor posts, 607 have already been filled, leaving the remaining 344 assistant professors and 67 librarians in limbo for the past three months. The 344 assistant professors include 154 for English, 142 for Punjabi, 30 for Hindi, 15 for Geography, and 3 for Education.
