Ludhiana: Meritorious schools’ teachers seek regularisation

The union coordinators Rakesh Kumar and Sukhjit Singh expressed their frustration over the unfulfilled promises of regularisation by the state department

The teachers from meritorious schools in Punjab have once again demonstrated their proficiency, with 243 students from these institutions qualifying in the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET UG) examination. Despite this achievement, the Meritorious Teachers Union is renewing its call for regularisation and proper increments.

They also highlighted the issue of an annual 3% increment, mandated by the government, which has not been implemented. (HT File)

The union coordinators Rakesh Kumar and Sukhjit Singh expressed their frustration over the unfulfilled promises of regularisation by the state department. They also highlighted the issue of an annual 3% increment, mandated by the government, which has not been implemented.

Another union coordinator Ajay Sharma, noted that a meeting was held last month with Ludhiana Central constituency member of legislative assembly (MLA) Ashok Parashar Pappi and Aam Aadmi Party worker Karamjit Anmol. Both assured the union that a meeting with chief minister Bhagwant Mann would be arranged after the elections. Despite numerous emails to the chief minister, their demands have yet to be addressed. Sharma said, “The future of meritorious school teachers is in jeopardy.”

Out of the 243 NEET UG qualifiers, 30 are from the Senior Secondary Residential School for meritorious students in Ludhiana. Students reported that the school teachers played a crucial role in their success, as the additional coaching provided by the department at the end of the year was less effective.

A NEET UG qualifier from Garhi Fazal village, Khushdeep Kaur, praised the teachers for their detailed explanations and ongoing support in selecting higher education institutions. Fellow student Muskan said, “We received coaching during our pre-board exams, which was not very beneficial. It was our school teachers’ guidance and extra classes that helped us qualify.”

Meritorious society assistant project director Balwinder Saini highlighted the continuous efforts made by the society for the lecturers’ regularisation. He mentioned that the issue has been raised with the government formed sub-committee addressing non-regularised staff but refrained from commenting on a timeline for resolution.

The sub-committee includes MLA Aman Arora, MLA Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal, and Punjab finance minister Harpal Singh Cheema. Despite several attempts, none of the committee members have responded.