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Ludhiana | Principals with double charge forced to travel 100km thrice a week
The state education department has placed a 22 principals with double charge , of which 17 are responsible for schools in different districts, forcing them to undertake long journeys thrice a week.
In an untenable arrangement, the state education department has placed a double charge with 22 principals, of which 17 are responsible for schools in different districts, forcing them to undertake long journeys thrice a week.
The principals whose second charge in Bathinda, Jalandhar and Moga have to undertake a journey of 140 km, 61 km and 68 km, respectively.
Of principals with a double charge, 13 are women. Charanjit Kaur, Monica, Gurmit Kaur, Sarabjit Kaur, Paramjit Kaur, Ravinder Kaur and Meenu Gupta are in charge of Government Senior Secondary Schools in Ludhiana and Moga. Meanwhile, Kulvir Kaur is in-charge of schools in Ludhiana and Bathinda, while Davinder Pal Kaur and Jyoti Sharma have to travel to Jalandhar thrice a week.
According to officials, most of the principals holding a double charge are those who sought transfers from the previous school education secretary but were not relieved from their previous charges in other districts and were rather given additional charge of another school.
A principal, on condition of anonymity, said the government does not pay travelling allowance to reach schools, which are around 100km away, in different districts. “We have to pay the fare thrice a week from our own pockets.”
“This arrangement is ridiculous. Entrusting a single principal to run two-three schools in different districts is tantamount to harassment. It seems that the government wants to punish the principals for seeking a transfer. The arrangement also affects teachers and students,” said an aggrieved principal, who did not wish to be named.
“An additional charge of a previous schools can be a temporary arrangement for two-three months till the joining of a new principal, but it has gone on for over a year. We have been shuttling between two schools, which affects the development of both the schools,” said another principal.
To sort out the issue, the Punjab school education department director general has sought the list of such school principals from all district education officers in the state.
A principal privy to the matter said the principals with double charges will soon hold a protest in SAS Nagar. “We deserved to be promoted for our hard work, but we are being treated poorly. Many principals are spending more than they earn on commuting,” she said.
District education officer Lakhvir Singh Samra says the list of these principals has been sent to the school education secretary and necessary action will soon be taken.
