Ludhiana: SOE principal transferred amid ongoing probe

The principal had been suspended in January after a video surfaced showing students being forced to carry heavy sandbags on the school campus, reportedly as punishment for arriving late

Kuldeep Singh, the principal of the School of Eminence (SOE) in Ludhiana’s Jawahar Nagar, has been transferred to Government Senior Secondary School, Mangat, effective immediately. This move comes as an inquiry into his earlier suspension remains incomplete.

The incident sparked widespread public outrage after visuals of the students doing physical labour for an ongoing construction project went viral. (HT Photo)

Singh had been suspended in January after a video surfaced showing students being forced to carry heavy sandbags on the school campus, reportedly as punishment for arriving late. The incident occurred on January 24, just weeks before Class 10 and 12 board exams, and sparked widespread public outrage after visuals of the students doing physical labour for an ongoing construction project went viral.

Singh, on his part, had denied ordering the punishment, claiming that one of the teachers acted on their own and that he informed higher authorities as soon as he found out. However, the video quickly went viral, sparking outrage among parents and raising serious concerns within the education community.

Following the backlash, Punjab education minister Harjot Singh Bains had suspended Kuldeep Singh and dismissed the campus manager. He condemned the act as “unprofessional” and warned educators across the state to uphold student welfare at all costs.

However, on June 16, nearly five months after the suspension, Singh was reinstated to the same school—the SOE Jawahar Nagar, “against a vacant post,” as per an official order, reportedly on his own request. During his suspension period, Vishwakirat Kahlon, principal of SOE Model Town, had been managing additional responsibilities for the school.

Now, less than two months after his reinstatement, Singh has been removed from SOE Jawahar Nagar once again and transferred to Government Senior Secondary School, Mangat. District education officer (secondary), Dimple Madan, acknowledged that reinstating Kuldeep Singh to the same school where he had been suspended was against departmental rules. She explained that the error was unintentional and that she was directed not to allow him to join, but the situation at the time made it difficult to stop the reinstatement. “The department is now correcting that mistake,” she said, adding that the inquiry is still underway.