Fight for plates at Mann’s event: Seven teachers summoned
The incident dates back to May 10 when CM Bhagwant Mann held a meeting with government school principals and education department officials in Ludhiana.
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Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann. (File photo)Stating that the “image” of the department has been “severely tarnished” after the video of the incident went viral on social media, the Punjab education department has issued summons to seven teachers who were purportedly seen fighting for plates at lunch during CM Bhagwant Mann’s programme in Ludhiana on May 10.
The incident dates back to May 10 when CM Bhagwant Mann held a meeting with government school principals and education department officials in Ludhiana. In the video, a group of teachers were seen jostling and pushing each other in an attempt to snatch plates from the waiter. The video was widely shared on social media questioning the behavior of the teachers. The office of Punjab’s Director General of Secondary Education (DGSE) issued a letter on Tuesday, a copy of which is with The Indian Express, stating it was an act of “indiscipline” which has “tarnished the image of the education department”.
Punjab education department has summoned seven teachers including 3 principals after this video of fighting for plates during lunch, after CM’s programme in Ludhiana on May 10 had gone viral 👇 | @iepunjab @IndianExpress pic.twitter.com/QB2VhNIRKc
— Divya Goyal (@divya5521) May 18, 2022
The order states that seven people who have been identified in the video – three principals, three head masters and one block primary education officer – have to report to the education department head office in Mohali on May 20, failing which departmental action will be initiated against them. While five of the seven summoned teachers are from Fazilka district, two are from Gurdaspur. The district education officers (DEOs) of Fazilka and Gurdaspur have also been summoned.
Sukhvir Singh Bal, (DEO of Fazilka, said that he will accompany the five teachers from his district as per order and they will give their own explanations. “It was their duty to maintain decorum. Even if there was shortage of plates or they were in hurry, these are no justifications for the behavior visible in the video. Being teachers themselves, they shouldn’t have fought for plates this way,” Bal said.
Pardeep Aggarwal, DGSE Punjab, said, “The letter has been issued as per rules.”
Teacher unions, meanwhile, said that summoning teachers was “unjustified” because the arrangements at the venue were inadequate. “Action should be taken against the person who shot this video and made it viral. The incident took place because the administration failed to make adequate arrangements despite knowing that over 2,500 teachers will attend the event,” a union leader said.
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