3 min readLudhianaDec 19, 2013 12:14 AM IST
First published on: Dec 19, 2013 at 12:14 AM IST
Commenting on the long pending demand of the staff of aided schools in Punjab,education minister Sikander Singh Maluka on Wednesday said that the demand of merger of government schools with aided schools is not practical and thus impossible.
Maluka was speaking at the foundation stone laying ceremony of a residential school to be built in the premises of SCD Government College for Boys.
He said that the government is considering the demands of the aided staff and it may come up with a policy to adopt aided teachers.
“If we at all adopt aided schools staff,then they have to clear Teacher’s Eligibility Test (TET) first. Also we will not be interfering in the working of aided schools and they will continue to run under the same management. We can just merge the teachers with government teachers and pay their dues. But this too is just a proposal as of now,” he said.
It is to be noted that more than 4,300 teachers appointed in 484 aided schools of Punjab are protesting for past many months now for their merger with government schools. Out of them 48 schools with 600 employees are in Ludhiana who do not get their salaries on time and the schools lack basic infrastructure.
Davinder Rehan,press secretary of Punjab Aided Schools Teachers and Other Employees Union said,“We get salary only twice a year and it has become difficult to run our homes. Now since September no salary has been credited and 60 per cent posts in aided schools are lying vacant.
“As many as 20 schools have already been shut down due to lack of management. If merged,govt will benefit and 5,000 vacant posts will be filled. We will continue to raise our demands until they are met.”
He added that the government cannot force them to pass TET as it is for new applicants and not teachers working at aided posts for many years now.
Meanwhile,talking about new residential schools project coming up at Mohali,Jalandhar,Ludhiana,Patiala and Amritsar,Maluka said that it will be a co-ed school with 1,000 students,600 girls and 400 boys.
“Students getting more than 80 per cent in Class X will be given free of cost education till Class XII in these schools and it is for under privileged students only. The project will cost Rs 32 crore,” he added.
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