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Ludhiana: Teachers’ convention demands end to non-academic duties
The leaders said that teachers across the state have repeatedly been deployed for non-teaching assignments, affecting classroom learning and placing an additional burden on the education system
After a prolonged legal battle and sustained organisational struggle that cleared the way for pending teacher promotions in the Punjab and Haryana High Court, promoted lecturers and the state leadership of the Democratic Teachers’ Front (DTF) Punjab held a joint convention at Punjabi Bhawan on Sunday.
The gathering focused on issues affecting the education sector, teacher unity and government policies.
Addressing a large gathering, DTF state president Digvijay Pal Sharma, state secretary Resham Singh Khemuana, joint secretary Daljit Samrala and state press secretary Lakhvir Singh Harike alleged that successive governments have ignored key sectors such as education and healthcare while increasingly assigning teachers non-academic duties.
The leaders said that teachers across the state have repeatedly been deployed for non-teaching assignments, affecting classroom learning and placing an additional burden on the education system. They stressed that, in the present circumstances, teachers must remain united on common issues irrespective of their cadre or organisation. The DTF said it remains committed to building a common platform for all teachers to collectively raise their concerns.
In his presidential address, Digvijay Pal Sharma criticised successive governments for failing to frame people-centric education policies. He alleged that instead of strengthening public education, governments have promoted policies that encourage privatisation and corporatisation of the education sector. He also expressed concern over what he described as the growing politicisation of education and called for greater public awareness against policies that, according to the union, weaken the public education system.
The convention also passed a resolution condemning the alleged detention of education reformer and social activist Sonam Wangchuk by the Delhi Police. The union leaders demanded the withdrawal of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, claiming that it encourages policies that are not in the interest of public education. They also alleged that non-scientific content was being introduced into school curricula and urged teachers to unite against such developments.
The convention was also addressed by lecturers Harvinder Singh Deol, Kulwinder Singh of Bathinda and Satinderjit Kaur of Fazilka, who discussed challenges faced by teachers and called for continued collective efforts to safeguard the interests of educators and strengthen government schools across Punjab.
Teachers have demanded the immediate release of pending honorariums for government employees and teachers who were deployed for census and drug survey duties, alleging that thousands are still waiting for their payments despite completing the work.
Leaders of the Democratic Employees Federation, and the Democratic Teachers’ Front (DTF), including district president Sukhwinder Singh Leel, DTF district president Ramanjit Singh Sandhu and general secretary Rupinder Pal Singh Gill, said that thousands of government employees worked on the house-listing phase of the Census between May 15 and June 15 during the peak summer heat.
The unions claimed that nearly 90% of the employees engaged in the exercise were teachers, who had to perform the non-academic duty at the cost of classroom teaching. They said the teachers first prepared notional maps and later completed the challenging house-listing work assigned under the census exercise.
DTF leaders alleged that despite the completion of the work, thousands of employees have not received the first installment of ₹9,000 promised for the census assignment.
The unions further said that many government employees were also deputed for the state’s drug survey. According to them, employees were promised an honorarium of ₹62,500 for carrying out the assignment. While many have already completed the survey work, the payment is yet to be released, they alleged.
The employee representatives criticised both the Punjab and central governments for repeatedly assigning teachers non-teaching duties, saying it affects students’ education and increases the workload of school staff.
They argued that teachers are expected to manage administrative assignments without receiving timely compensation for their efforts.
Expressing resentment over the delay, the unions demanded that the pending honorariums for both the census and drug survey duties be released without further delay. They warned that if the payments are not cleared soon, the organisations would be compelled to launch an agitation in support of the affected employees.
