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574 teachers debarred from applying for promotions for two years in Punjab

By, Ludhiana
Jan 21, 2025 10:21 PM IST

The affected teachers have blamed the state education department’s station allocation policies, which they allege prioritised Schools of Eminence and offered limited joining options

As many as 574 master cadre teachers in Punjab have been debarred for two years after failing to join their allotted stations as lecturers for various subjects.

In Ludhiana, 67 teachers are among those debarred. (HT File)
In Ludhiana, 67 teachers are among those debarred. (HT File)

The affected teachers have blamed the state education department’s station allocation policies, which they allege prioritised Schools of Eminence (SOEs) and offered limited joining options. As a result, many teachers were unable to accept their promotions.

Lecturer Cadre Union state finance secretary Dharamjeet Singh Dhillon criticised the process and said, “The allocation prioritised SOEs, schools with high student numbers, and institutions with less than 50% staff. Many lecturers were assigned far-off stations, leaving them with no choice but to decline promotions. Now, the department has released a debarred list, causing frustration among the teaching community,” he said.

The decision has highly impacted subjects like commerce, Hindi, economics, political science, Punjabi, English, history,mathematics, physics and biology as they remain uncovered due the shortage of staff.

“Currently, 750 schools lack principals, and no principal promotions have taken place since March 2021. Meanwhile, fine arts lecturers are still waiting for their promotion lists, which remain pending,” Dhillon added.

In Ludhiana, 67 teachers are among those debarred. A teacher from the School of Eminence in Indrapuri, who has only three years until retirement, explained her predicament. “Travelling hundreds of kilometers is simply not feasible at this stage of my career. Both history and English lecturers will retire in my school by February, leaving these posts vacant. Instead of limiting our choices, the department should have opened all available stations,” she said.

Tehal Singh Sarabha, secretary of the Government School Teachers’ Union, Punjab, highlighted the broader impact. “Six months ago, 8,000 lecturer posts were vacant across government schools. After 2,500 promotions, 574 teachers have now been debarred. During station allotments, teachers were called to the DPI office and given very few choices, with many rural schools excluded from the options despite having vacant positions. Previously, all vacant stations were shown, but that process has changed,” he said.

Lack of teachers has disrupted education in many government schools, with several key subjects left without instructors.

Repeated attempts to reach Directorate of Public Instructions (DPI Secondary Education) Paramjeet Singh went unanswered.

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