Supreme Court’s TET ruling | ‘Punjab exploring legal options.. your jobs secure’: Bains assures protesting teachers

Teachers with more than five years of service remaining must clear the TET within a two-year grace period (by August 2027) to both remain in service and stay eligible for career advancement. The Court invoked Article 142 to ensure uniform teacher quality standards across India, ruling that the TET is a baseline requirement for teaching Classes 1 to 8 under the Right to Education (RTE) Act.

Teachers in Punjab are protesting against the ruling, stating that TET was introduced only in 2011. They said that teachers recruited before 2011 had also met some eligibility and merit criteria. They say it’s now “unfair” to make them appear in TET after decades of teaching.

Rs 400 crore digitisation project for computer labs

Bains announced a Rs 400 crore digitalisation project under the Punjab Sikhya Kranti, stating that the AAP-led Punjab Government will equip government schools with state-of-the-art technology and fundamentally redefine classroom teaching across Punjab.

Bains said the ambitious initiative will replace outdated hardware and phase out obsolete computer systems, ensuring that all government senior secondary schools, high schools, and middle schools are equipped with the latest digital infrastructure.

Bains said, “As many as 38,649 brand-new desktop computers equipped with the latest software are being installed across 5,012 government schools. These will be distributed to all Senior Secondary and High Schools, as well as 50 per cent of Middle Schools, ensuring that students have access to the latest hardware and technology.”

He also said that dedicated computer labs will be established in 5,000 government schools, ensuring that all secondary and senior secondary government schools have fully functional computer labs.

“We are installing 8,268 Interactive Flat Panels in 3,694 schools. Every Senior Secondary and High School will receive these panels, with larger schools receiving four, five, or even eight units, depending on student strength. This massive infusion of technology ensures that digital literacy and smart learning are no longer the privileges of private institutions but the fundamental right of every student in Punjab’s public school system,” he said.

Describing the move as a decisive shift from traditional chalkboards to technology-driven smart classrooms, Bains said, “The move would phase out obsolete computer systems. For too long, our students were working on computers so outdated that they barely functioned, still running Microsoft Paint on outdated versions. We are changing it permanently.”

“This is not just an announcement for tomorrow; deliveries have already begun in schools today. By the 20th of March, every school in every district of Punjab will receive their new equipment,” he said.

Bains said that school heads have been directed to organise school-level “Unboxing Celebration Programmes” for new computers between February 21 and March 20 21st by inviting parents, school management committees, village panchayats, retired teachers and ex-servicemen to “witness the inauguration of this new digital era”.

“We want the community to see the change in the government education system. Often, people look at government schools from the outside and do not realise the transformation inside,” he said.