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Ludhiana: Child rights panel pulls up dist education dept
The controversy began with a formal complaint dated August 5, filed by Kulwant Singh, head teacher of a government primary school in Sangrur, along with Kewal Singh and others
The Punjab State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (PSCPCR) has pulled up the district elementary education department over allegations of irregularities in last year’s state-level primary school games. The commission has demanded a detailed report after several districts accused Ludhiana of fielding overage players, raising doubts about the fairness of the tournament and the legitimacy of the district’s victory.
The controversy began with a formal complaint dated August 5, filed by Kulwant Singh, head teacher of a government primary school in Sangrur, along with Kewal Singh and others. They alleged that in the Under-11 boys’ football match, Ludhiana’s team played against Tarn Taran with overage players. While Tarn Taran’s team in-charge raised objections on the spot, no action was taken, and Ludhiana was declared the winner. Following this, team in-charges from Patiala, Sangrur, Gurdaspur, Hoshiarpur, and Mohali also submitted complaints, claiming their sides were unfairly eliminated.
In a copy of the complaint, the complainants pointed out that Aadhaar cards, birth certificates and school records of participating players are supposed to be verified by the district education officer before the matches. They further alleged that despite repeated reminders, crucial documents, including certificates, details of seats allotted at centre, block, and district levels, as well as attendance records from April to December 2024 of the concerned players, were not provided to them.
The petitioners urged the commission to investigate the matter thoroughly to ensure transparency in future tournaments scheduled for September and October.
Reacting to the issue, district education officer (elementary) Ravinder Kaur said, “The head teachers of the schools concerned had approached the commission a few days ago, but for some reason, their side could not be presented. We will soon meet the commission again with all necessary proofs to clear the matter so that such doubts do not arise in future.”
