28 of 154 librarian posts vacant in Ludhiana government schools

Bains made the announcement in the Punjab assembly while responding to a question by Jalalabad MLA Jagdeep Kamboj Goldy on vacancies in librarian posts in government schools

Government schools in Ludhiana have 28 vacancies among 154 sanctioned librarian posts, with the state government set to begin recruitment and issue an advertisement by the end of August, education minister Harjot Singh Bains said.

A school principal on condition of anonymity said the diversion of librarians was also affecting students’ access to books. (HT File)

Bains made the announcement in the Punjab assembly while responding to a question by Jalalabad MLA Jagdeep Kamboj Goldy on vacancies in librarian posts in government schools. Across Punjab, 785 of the 1,860 sanctioned librarian posts are vacant, while 1,075 are filled, he said.

Teachers in Ludhiana, however, said the shortage was compounded by the diversion of existing librarians to duties outside their regular responsibilities. They said librarians posted in schools were frequently assigned administrative work, including SIR and BLO duties, leaving them unavailable for library work.

“Wherever there are librarians in high and senior secondary schools, they are most of the time on other administrative duties outside the school including, SIR and BLO duty. It eventually kills the purpose of having a librarian in the school,” said Dharamjeet Singh Dhillon, district president of the Lecturer Cadre Union.

Teachers said the government should fill the vacant posts and ensure that librarians are available in schools instead of being routinely assigned unrelated administrative duties.

Deputy district education officer (secondary) Amandeep Singh said, “The district has not received any further information about the proposed recruitment advertisement.”