The Democratic Teachers Front (DTF) has reported that 107 out of 228 sanctioned Block Primary Education Officer (BPEO) posts remain vacant across Punjab, undermining the state government's Sikhya Kranti initiative. This shortage is causing administrative delays in the Primary Education Department.
Vacancy Breakdown by District
According to DTF data, Mansa and Rupnagar are the worst affected, with all BPEO posts unfilled. Mansa has five sanctioned posts, all vacant, while Rupnagar has 10 vacancies out of 10 sanctioned posts.
In the Doaba region, Hoshiarpur has only two BPEOs against 21 sanctioned posts, leaving 19 vacancies. Jalandhar has 10 vacancies out of 17 posts, Kapurthala six out of nine, and Nawanshahr five out of seven. Other districts like Bathinda have one BPEO against seven posts, and Malerkotla has one officer against three posts. In contrast, Ferozepur, Sri Muktsar Sahib, and Moga have filled all their sanctioned BPEO posts.
Impact on School Administration
BPEOs are responsible for preparing teacher salaries, processing medical reimbursement claims, maintaining service records, and overseeing government primary schools. DTF state president Digvijaypal Sharma and state secretary Resham Singh Khemuana stated that the vacancy crisis forces officers to handle multiple blocks, delaying salary preparation and other service-related tasks. Teachers must make repeated visits to block offices to get routine work done.
Reasons and Demands
The DTF attributes the shortage to delayed promotions. The government increased the promotion quota for BPEOs from 50% to 75%, meaning three-fourths of posts are filled through promotions and the remaining 25% through direct recruitment. The Education Department amended service rules by making the Centre Head Teacher (CHT) post a district cadre to address the shortage, but the situation remains unchanged.
The DTF demands immediate completion of pending promotions and filling of the 25% direct recruitment quota. Timely appointments are essential for the smooth functioning of primary education.
This is the second vacancy report from DTF in a month. In June, the union revealed that 1,113 of 1,927 sanctioned principal posts in government senior secondary schools across Punjab were vacant.
