Ludhiana: Sweepers in govt schools await salaries for months

As per the guidelines from the Director General of School Education, schools with 100-500 students should have one sweeper while those with 501-1,000 students should have two; however, many schools report vacant posts or no sweepers assigned

The sweepers in government schools across the district have not been paid salaries since March, and in some cases since February, leaving them in hardships. This has forced many teachers and principals to use the Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) funds to pay them to ensure basic hygiene is maintained in schools.

Sweepers say they haven’t received payment since February. (Manish/HT)

Sukhdhir Singh Sekhon, head teacher at Government Primary School, Moti Nagar, and officiating head at Giaspura School, said, “These workers have not received salaries for nearly four months. We don’t have amalgamated funds to pay them and can only wait for grants.”

Sweepers, earning a meagre ₹3,000 per month, are expected to keep school premises clean throughout the day. Yet, schools with fewer than 100 students do not get sweepers at all, forcing teachers to take up cleaning duties themselves. As per the guidelines from the Director General of School Education, schools with 100-500 students should have one sweeper while those with 501-1,000 students should have two. However, many schools report vacant posts or no sweepers assigned.

Charanjeet Kaur Ahuja, principal of Government Senior Secondary School, Cemetery Road, said, “The salaries are credited to the school’s account before being given to sweepers. In my school, they have not been paid since February, so we are paying them from PTA funds so they can at least manage daily expenses.”

Dharminder Singh, an official from the district education office (DEO), secondary, handling salaries, said, “The grants have not come since March. The government has asked schools to switch their accounts from a private bank owing to some issue, but nearly 80% of schools have been using the services of that private bank. Accounts must be shifted to other banks before salaries can be credited.”

Despite several attempts, DEO Dimple Madan was not available for comments.