Despite a decade of dedication, repeated protests and numerous meetings with officials, teachers of meritorious schools across Punjab continue to wait for the regularisation of their jobs. Their struggle stands in sharp contrast to the remarkable academic success of their students, many of whom have excelled in competitive exams like NEET and JEE, they say.
These teachers, many of whom are PhD holders and NET-qualified professionals, have been serving without salary increments, allowances or even basic facilities. “We have been waiting for regularisation for over a decade,” said Lakhvir Singh, a teacher at Ludhiana’s Meritorious School, who carries a green pen made of paper in each protest- a symbolic reminder of the promise made by the state government to regularise their services.
The results speak volumes of their commitment. This year, of the 189 government school students who cleared JEE Mains, 131 were from the nine Meritorious schools. Twenty-one students qualified JEE Advanced, 213 cleared NEET and 37 Class 12 students made it to the merit list. Last year, 243 students cracked NEET and over 2,000 scored above 90% in Class 12 board exams from these institutions.
Yet, behind these achievements are teachers who continue to serve on temporary contracts. “We were promised regularisation along with the non-teaching staff under Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan, but we are still waiting,” said Teena, state president of the Meritorious Teachers’ Union.
{{/usCountry}}Yet, behind these achievements are teachers who continue to serve on temporary contracts. “We were promised regularisation along with the non-teaching staff under Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan, but we are still waiting,” said Teena, state president of the Meritorious Teachers’ Union.
{{/usCountry}}She added that a meeting with the officer on special duty (OSD) to chief minister on October 1 brought some hope, as they were told that the Director General of School Education (DGSE) is framing a policy for regularisation.
Earlier this year, former DGSE Vinay Bublani had also assured that the issue was under review and a committee was being formed, the union stated, adding that Amandeep Kaur, project director of the Meritorious Society, had also confirmed that the file remains under consideration.
When contacted, present DGSE Arvind Kumar clarified, “Our task is not to frame a policy but to implement it. Once a policy is framed, we will be bound to execute it.”