Ludhiana: The Punjab government is facing a major industrial backlash from public school educators after drafting dozens of senior lecturers into administrative duties for a newly launched state welfare scheme.
An official directive issued to the district education officer (secondary) confirms that 57 government school lecturers across various Ludhiana blocks have been reassigned to execute tasks for the Mukh Mantri Maava Dheeyan Satkar Yojana (Chief Minister's Mothers and Daughters Respect Scheme).
The announcement immediately drew fierce condemnation from labor unions, reviving a long-standing dispute over the systemic exploitation of teaching staff for civil administration. The teacher union argues that the state’s frequent reliance on educators to manage data entry, censuses, election registries, and political welfare rollouts has profoundly compromised classroom instruction.
Union Response
"The government aggressively advertises an educational revolution, yet these actions systematically remove teachers from their classrooms," said Rupinder Pal Singh Gill, district general secretary of the Democratic Teachers Front. He added: "Whether it is data reporting, national censuses, elections, or now this new welfare scheme, our staff are being treated more like corporate data operators than professional educators. The administrative pressure is completely unsustainable."
Gill further stated that the union was preparing to launch large-scale public protests across the district if the non-teaching assignments are not immediately rescinded.
Government Response
Internal education department sources indicated that a high-level emergency briefing was scheduled on short notice following the assignment order, but the meeting was abruptly abandoned without explanation. Both district education officer Dimple Madaan and deputy district education officer Amandeep Singh refused to comment or address the unions' escalating strike threats.
Background
This incident highlights ongoing tensions between the Punjab government and teacher unions over the misuse of educational staff for non-academic tasks. The unions have long argued that such practices undermine the quality of education and overburden teachers. The Mukh Mantri Maava Dheeyan Satkar Yojana aims to provide financial assistance to mothers and daughters, but its implementation has now sparked controversy.
