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Ajay Joshi
Tribune News Service
Jalandhar, October 18
Government School teachers under the banner of the Sanjha Adhyapak Morcha protested at the PUDA ground, opposite the District Administrative Complex, here, today.
During the protest, the teachers made colourful effigies of the Chief Minister, Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal, Education Minister OP Soni and Education Secretary Krishan Kumar in the shape of demon kings. They later burnt them near the protest site.
Expressing disappointment over the Punjab Cabinet’s decision to regularise the services of 8,886 teachers on Rs 15,000 monthly salary, district teachers under the banner of different teacher unions, including SSA and RMSA, Sanjha Adhyapak Morcha, Punjab, EGS AIE STR Teachers’ Union and Education Providers Union, criticised the government for its autocratic move.
District conveners Karnail Phillaur, Kuldeep Singh, Amardeep Maini, Gurpreet Parmar and others said: “The Captain government in the state before assuming the power had promised of ‘Ghar Ghar Rojgar’, whereas contrary to it, the government was trying to snatch jobs of teachers and workers of various departments. The conveners said all teachers of the state had completely disaffirmed with the new formula presented by the government to regularise the teachers.”
They said the Education Department was spreading lies that many of the teachers had agreed to comply with its orders regarding the new regularisation policy. Taking action against teachers who were vocal against the department, leaders, under the banner of the Sanjha Adhyapak Morcha, said the government had illogically transferred teachers to remote locations.
The 17 teachers, who are on a fast-unto-death, were among those present. Apparently, the teachers have been drinking only water since October 7. A pregnant teacher’s health got deteriorated during the protest.
“To protest against the Education Secretary’s negligence, thousands of teachers from the city will organise a mass-level protest in Patiala,” Karnail said.