44% of Punjab’s senior secondary schools without principal: Data
Teachers' body seeks recruitment, promotions; Bains says promotions being done in phased manner, matter in court
3 min read
Principals are promoted from within the cadre as per seniority list and a percentage of it is direct recruitment.Of 1,927 senior secondary schools in Punjab, 856 (44%) are without a regular principal. In 10 districts and 77 education blocks, over 50% schools lack a regular principal, reveals data compiled by the Democratic Teachers’ Front (DTF). “We question the AAP government’s claims of an education revolution and demand immediate appointments through direct recruitment and promotions,” said Vikram Singh Dev, president of DTF.
Mansa and Barnala are the worst-hit districts, with 60 out of 73 (82%) and 36 out of 47 (76.6%) schools, respectively, without a regular principal. “In Sangrur, the home district of CM Bhagwant Mann, Finance Minister Harpal Cheema and AAP Punjab president Aman Arora, 57 out of 95 (60%) schools are without a regular principal. Even Education Minister Harjot Bains’s home district, Rupnagar, has 13 out of 55 (23.6%) vacancies,” said DTF leaders Mahinder Kaurianwali and Ashwani Awasthi.
Education Minister Harjot Singh Bains said, “Promotions are being done from primary to master cadre to lecturers and further to principals. Soon, hundreds of promotions of principals will also be done. The direct recruitment matter is in the High Court and regular promotions are being done in every department in a phased manner.”
Principals are promoted from within the cadre as per seniority list and a percentage of it is direct recruitment.
“Earlier, it was 75% promotions and 25% direct recruitment (from within the education department, irrespective of the seniority). But in 2018, one amendment was made by the then Congress government according to which promotions and direct recruitments were made 50:50 and that matter was challenged in the Punjab and Haryana High Court,” said Dev.
Nine education blocks — Moonak (Sangrur), Garhshankar-2 (Hoshiarpur), Sultanpur and Bhulath (Kapurthala), Saroa (Nawanshahr), Valtoha (Tarn Taran), Shahkot and Nurmahal (Jalandhar), and Ajnala-2 (Amritsar) — do not have a single regular principal. Another 13 blocks have only one principal each. In contrast, Mohali has 46 out of 47 principal positions filled.
The schools in the surrounding areas of Chandigarh have less percentage of vacant posts of principals. It is 2.17% in Mohali, 15.5% in Patiala, 23.6% in Rupnagar and 25% in Fatehgarh Sahib as these districts are closer to Chandigarh.
In urban areas, HRA (house rent allowance) is 16% while it is 8% in rural areas. However, the rural allowance has been discontinued for long now, said Dev. “But if anyone is promoted, he/ she will always go to the schools in rural areas, irrespective of the location,” he added. Tejinder Kapurthala, another DTF leader from Kapurthala, said, “We urge Punjab government to fill all vacant posts, relieve teachers of non-academic tasks, and develop an education policy suited to Punjab instead of implementing the National Education Policy 2020.”
“We have compiled the data by taking information from teachers of every district,” said Pawan Kumar, press secretary of DTF.
Drawing attention to another problem, Dev said, “The drawing and disbursal order (DDOs) for such schools are given to the regular principals of other schools while one seniormost teacher is made incharge for handling daily affairs. The incharge can’t sign any documents and that is done by the ones who have got DDO powers. Salary of such teachers is also disbursed once the principal signs the DDO of that particular school.”
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