Ludhiana: Peons’ shortage adds to teachers’ burden

Dharamjeet Singh Dhillon, state finance secretary and district president of the Lecturer Cadre Union, stated that the absence of supporting staff in most schools in the Ludhiana district places an extra burden on teachers, who are already expected to perform numerous duties beyond teaching

Government school teachers are facing increased difficulties due to the lack of peons. According to teachers, peons have not been appointed by the department for over a decade now. As a result, teachers are performing additional duties such as ringing the bell to signal class changes, passing files between departments, and handling other administrative tasks.

Teachers in the Ludhiana district are performing extra duties such as ringing bell, passing files between departments, and handling other administrative tasks. (HT Photo)

Dharamjeet Singh Dhillon, state finance secretary and district president of the Lecturer Cadre Union, stated that most schools in the district lack peons. “There have been no new peon appointments for more than a decade. The few appointments made in recent years were only replacements for deceased employees,” he said. Dhillon added that the absence of supporting staff places an extra burden on teachers, who are already expected to perform numerous duties beyond teaching.

“In our school in Dhanansu, we had no one to ring the school bell, so we installed an electronic bell, and a teacher was assigned to manage it. We even hired a peon using our own money to help manage the school’s tasks,” Dhillon said. “This situation is the same in many other schools,” he added.

Tehal Singh Sarabha, secretary of the Government School Teachers’ Union, Punjab, added that the lack of non-teaching staff affects not only the school’s administrative functions but also hampers teaching. “Teachers are often required to leave the school to perform other tasks, such as visiting banks or purchasing materials, as they are also part of the purchasing committee. If non-teaching staff were available, all these activities could be managed smoothly without disrupting the studies,” he stated.

Paramjeet Singh, Director of School Education (Secondary), remarked, “We assign peons to schools where there is a demand. Schools can submit their demand, and we will allot them peons accordingly.”