200 primary teachers in Sangrur’s Moonak block await June salary

According to officials familiar with the matter, funds are available with the local education department but as the post of accounts clerk is vacant, the salary bills for June couldn’t be prepared and submitted to the treasury office

Sangrur: Around 200 primary teachers of Moonak block in Sangrur district are awaiting their June salary.

Around 200 primary teachers of Moonak block in Sangrur district are awaiting their June salary.

According to officials familiar with the matter, funds are available with the local education department but as the post of accounts clerk is vacant, the salary bills for June couldn’t be prepared and submitted to the treasury office.

The salary of teachers for July may also get delayed as the department has not given additional charge of the accounts clerk to some other employee, they said.

A teacher, requesting anonymity, said: “We are unable to pay instalments of car and home loans.”

Balvir Singh Longowal, district president of the Democratic Teachers’ Front, said there are 53 primary schools in the block and none of the primary teachers has received salary for June.

“The salaries were delayed due to the negligence of the education department. If the post of the accounts clerk is vacant, it is their duty to give additional charge to other employee. We had met officials of the education department, but to no avail,” said Longowal.

Data Singh, another union leader, said: “The department has to prepare salary bills a week before the month-end to release funds for next month. However, the department did not prepare salary bills for July. It means teachers will also not get their July salary on time.”

District education officer (DEO secondary) Kultaranjit Singh, who also holds the charge of the elementary wing, said: “We had assigned the additional work of the Moonak office to a clerk but he did not join. This led to delay in the release of salaries. Now, we are giving the charge to another clerk.”