Ludhiana: Govt school heads await reimbursement for seminars

‘There has been no allocation of funds for this purpose as of now. I will raise the matter with the higher authorities’

Months after training seminars organised by the education department, government school heads in Ludhiana are still awaiting reimbursement, with some claiming they spent up to ₹15,000 from their own pockets to host the events.

Teachers said the issue was not limited to seminar expenses. (HT File)

Dharamjeet Singh Dhillon, district president of the Lecturer Cadre Union, said the seminars were organised by the District Institute of Education and Training (DIET) for upper primary school teachers. According to him, a fixed amount of ₹150 per teacher is earmarked for refreshments and stationery during such training sessions. “These seminars are usually conducted over two days for each subject and the host school has to make all arrangements in advance. In many cases, school heads spent up to ₹15,000 from their own pockets, but the reimbursement has still not been released.”

Responding to the allegations, Gurdeep Singh, who holds additional charge as principal of DIET, acknowledged that no funds had been released for the seminar expenses so far. “There has been no allocation of funds for this purpose as of now. However, I will raise the matter with the higher authorities,” he said.

“The entire expenditure was borne by the schools themselves,” said a teacher, requesting anonymity.Deputy district education officer (Elementary) Manoj Kumar said funds meant to reimburse expenditure incurred on PTM-related arrangements were expected to be released shortly.