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Ludhiana: Year on, seven teachers of aided schools await salaries, says union
Punjab Aided-School Teachers’ Union says non-payment has left teachers grappling with financial burden and uncertainty; the affected teachers, recruited before April 2003 under the grant-in-aid scheme, were last paid in February 2024.
Seven physical education and drawing teachers from government-aided schools in Ludhiana district, along with 78 others across Punjab, have not received their salaries for a year. The Punjab Aided-School Teachers’ Union, blaming the state government for “failing” to release its share of funds, said the delay has left the teachers grappling with mounting financial burdens and uncertainty.
The affected teachers, recruited before April 2003 under the “Grant-in-Aid” scheme, were last paid in February 2024. The scheme initially promised to cover 95% of their salaries, with the school management contributing the remaining 5%. However, over the years, the system has steadily deteriorated, leading to widespread financial distress among the staff.
According to Gurmeet Singh Madnipur, state president of the Punjab government-aided schoolteachers and other employee’s union-1967, the crisis has been brewing for decades. He highlighted that the government froze recruitments in 2003 and discontinued the pension scheme, forcing teachers to protest for their rights. “Despite protests and even arrests, the scheme was restored in 2011 following the Supreme Court directions, but not before over 125 employees passed away without receiving their rightful benefits,” he said.
The decline of aided schools in Punjab has been alarming, the union stated. “In 1967, there were 508 aided schools, but today, only around 400 remain, many struggling to survive,” Madnipur said. “The number of aided staff has dwindled from 9,468 in 1967 to just 1,600 by the end of 2024. Some schools are left with only one or two aided staff, while others, like Khalsa High School in Ludhiana and DAV High School in Ropar, no longer have any,” he added.
Harjit Singh from NM Jain School, Ludhiana, who is among the affected teachers, said, “I haven’t been paid for a year. I’m surviving on loans, but it’s becoming unbearable.”
“I have monthly installments to pay and my children’s education costs are piling up. I’ve had to take repeated loans to make ends meet,” he added.
The union further added that in 2022, the education department verbally excluded these teachers from the classical and vernacular cadre without an official order. Matters worsened in November 2024, when their pay scale was downgraded from a grade pay of ₹4,400 to ₹3,200, with authorities initiating recovery of the “excess” salary previously paid. “This has added insult to injury,” said Madnipur.
Avtar Singh, a teacher from Sangrur, said: “I’ve taken a gold loan for the fourth time just to survive. It’s humiliating, but when you don’t get paid for a year, there’s no choice,”
When asked about the salary delay, director general of school education, Vinay Bublani, stated that the issue falls under the jurisdiction of the directorate of public instructions (secondary education), headed by Paramjeet Singh. Repeated calls to Singh went unanswered.
The union informed that the affected teachers had filed a petition in the Punjab and Haryana high court. The first hearing of the petition took place on December 16, 2024. “During the hearing, the court ordered a stay on the education department’s November 2024 letter, which stated the reduction of the teachers’ pay scale from ₹4,400 to ₹3,200,” it said.
According to Madnipur, the department informed the court that the letter had been withdrawn but indicated that it would be reissued with a revised procedure.
The next hearing of the case is scheduled in February.
