Ludhiana: Meritorious school teachers flag salary delay, seek regular jobs

According to Vijay Sharma, project director of the Meritorious Society, funds have already been released and salaries will be credited soon; regarding the regular job demand of teachers, he says the process is underway

Teachers of meritorious schools, who have been demanding regular jobs, have said that frequent delays in salary disbursement have added to their financial woes. According to them, they have been awaiting their salaries for the month of March even as April is nearing its end.

Teachers say they are yet to receive salary for March. (HT PHOTO)

“Earlier, salaries were delayed by a few days, but this time the wait has become unbearable,” said a teacher. “The meritorious schools in the state continue to shine with exceptional academic results, but the teachers driving this success remain trapped in uncertainty, awaiting long-promised regularisation and delayed salaries. Despite years of dedication and repeated assurances from authorities, their concerns remain unresolved,” another teacher, wishing not to be named, said.

Lakhvir Singh, a teacher at a Ludhiana-based meritorious school, said, “For more than a decade, teachers across these institutions have been demanding permanent status through protests and multiple rounds of meetings with officials.” According to Singh, he carries a green paper pen during protests, symbolising the government’s “unfulfilled promise” to regularise their services.

Regarding the achievements of meritorious schools, he said students from these schools have consistently excelled in national-level competitive exams. “Last year, out of the 189 government school students who cleared JEE Mains, 131 were from nine meritorious schools. Additionally, 21 students qualified JEE Advanced, while 213 cleared NEET. A total of 37 Class 12 students secured positions in the merit list,” Lakhvir Singh said.

In 2024, the numbers were equally impressive, with 243 students cracking NEET and more than 2,000 scoring above 90% in Class 12 board examinations, he added.

Responding to the issue, Vijay Sharma, project director of the Meritorious Society, stated that funds have already been released and salaries will be credited soon. Regarding the regualr job demand of teachers, he said the process was underway.