Government school teachers in Punjab staged a protest rally in Mohali on Monday, raising multiple demands related to service conditions, education policy, and school infrastructure. The demonstration was organized by the Government Teachers Union, led by state president Sukhwinder Singh Chahal and general secretary Gurbinder Singh Saskaur.
Protest Details
According to the protesting teachers, they attempted to march towards the Punjab Chief Minister's residence in Chandigarh. However, police stopped the march at barricades, leading to a brief road blockade and slogan shouting by the protesters.
The union alleged that initially, no government official came to receive their memorandum. Later, the administration informed them in writing that a panel meeting with the Education Department would be held on June 9, followed by a meeting with a Cabinet Subcommittee on June 23. Following this assurance, the protest was withdrawn.
Key Demands
During the protest, union leaders accused the government of weakening the public education system and criticized the implementation of the National Education Policy, claiming it has led to staffing shortages in schools. They also opposed the proposed delinking of dearness allowance from central government rates.
Teachers expressed concern over repeated allegations of paper leaks in recruitment and examinations, stating that such incidents were harming students' future and public trust in the examination system. They also demanded timely release of pending pay arrears, implementation of Dearness Allowance instalments, and correction of pay anomalies.
A major demand of the union was the revival of the Old Pension Scheme and the regularisation of contract-based teachers, computer teachers, and outsourced staff. The union also demanded that teachers be exempted from non-teaching duties such as census work, election duties, and other administrative assignments.
Other demands included filling long-pending promotional posts across cadres, creating new teaching posts based on student strength, restoring abolished allowances, and improving working conditions in government schools.
