School teachers see ray of hope after Education Minister’s assurance

Employees of government-aided schools see a ray of hope in the assurance given by Education Minister Harjot Bains for the resolution of their long-pending demands to a delegation of state-level leaders of the Punjab State Government Aided Private Schools Teachers and Other Employees’ Union.

Further action regarding the acceptance and implementation will be taken during a joint meeting scheduled to be held soon. District president Ravinderjit Puri said a delegation led by president of the union Gurmit Singh Madnipur and general secretary Sharanjit Singh Kadimajra had met the Education Minister Bains, who had listened to their problems.

“Having learnt about the genuineness of demands of the union and failure of successive governments to redress them, the minister assured to take up the issue with Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann and schedule a joint meeting of senior functionaries in the Education Department and Union Leaders soon,” said Puri.

The restoration of grants of classical and vernacular, PTI and drawing teachers, clear instructions on pension payments for employees retiring after June 2024 and dissolving the responsibility fixed for decline in strength of students due to stressed circumstances were cited among major demands of the staff. — OC