Around 60 to 70 computer teachers gathered outside the deputy commissioner’s office in Ludhiana on Thursday to discuss preparations for their proposed state-level protest in Sangrur on September 5.
Computer Teachers Union Punjab leader Amit Pawar said the meeting was held to discuss the teachers’ pending demands and preparations for the protest outside the Punjab chief minister’s residence in Sangrur on Teachers’ Day. The union has also announced an indefinite protest from September 5, which it said would continue until its demands are addressed.
Pawar said computer teachers from Ludhiana district would participate in large numbers, with around 600 teachers expected to join the protest.
According to the union, 6,640 computer teachers were issued a regularisation notification by the Punjab government on December 2, 2010, with the approval of the Governor, followed by regular appointment letters in 2011. The teachers, however, alleged that they continued to work under the Punjab ICT Education Society (PICTES) framework and had not been given the benefits they were seeking.
Their demands include implementation of the 2010 regularisation notification, benefits under the Fifth Pay Commission, including the unrevised dearness allowance, and a death policy for computer teachers.
Pawar said the union had also held discussions with a government sub-committee earlier and claimed that some of the issues were discussed, but the demands were yet to be implemented.
The union further claimed that the Punjab and Haryana high court had ruled in favour of the computer teachers, but the state government approached the Supreme Court instead of implementing the order.
{{/usCountry}}The union further claimed that the Punjab and Haryana high court had ruled in favour of the computer teachers, but the state government approached the Supreme Court instead of implementing the order.
{{/usCountry}}Pawar said the teachers had been working in government schools for years and were seeking implementation of commitments made by successive governments. He said the union would continue its agitation until the 2010 regularisation notification, a promise made in the election manifesto and an announcement by the education minister on September 15, 2022, were implemented.