‘Deserter’ teachers set to lose jobs

Most of them have settled in countries like the US,Canada,UK and Australia,said department sources. The list included teachers who had been absent from their jobs for over a decade. In Jalandhar,out of 167 missing teachers,112 were women. Records show that 44 of them taught science,26 maths,19 English and 23 Hindi.

Claiming that he cannot tell the exact number of such teachers,DGSE Ashok Kumar Singla said: “During field checks in one or two districts,I came to know that less number of absent teachers were shown in the records submitted to the DGSE office. The actual number was higher. Now,I am again collecting details of such absent teachers.”

A senior education department official said that till some years ago,several government teachers had appointed “proxy teachers” on their behalf while they settled abroad.

‘Spend 50 per cent funds on education’

Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today appealed to university teachers to play a proactive role in ensuring all round development of the state.

“Intellectuals,writers and experts working in all universities of the state should come forward and play a proactive role in ensuring the state’s development,” he said after inaugurating the fifth Sarb Bharti Punjabi conference dedicated to Golden Jubilee of Punjabi University here.

Badal also said there was no dearth of capability and skill in rural areas but the need of the hour was to show them the right path.

Stating that quality education was the key element for ensuring the development of the state,Badal said that during his last tenure,the government opened seven new universities and 17 new colleges.

To be a leader in the field of education,the state has formulated a plan to start an education movement for which directions have been issued to all the ministers to spend at least 50 per cent of their discretionary funds for educational purposes. Badal said that the Panchayati Raj Institutions have also been directed to spend a larger part of their funds for the development of educational institutions. The education department has been told to submit report regarding the need of basic necessities like infrastructure and staff,so that the education system could be over hauled.

Highlighting the importance of cultural and historical heritage in the personality development,Badal said that the state would be soon constructing a memorial depicting the role played by Punjabis in country’s freedom struggle near Kartarpur in Jalandhar.

Later,talking to the media,Badal said that the state was making serious efforts for restoring the quota of Punjabi students in admissions,which has been cancelled by the Thapar University.