Order on Malla school closure deferred, protesters unmoved

Balwant Garg

Tribune News Service 

Faridkot, November 10

Following over two weeks of protest by parents of about 600 students of Government Adarsh School at Malla village of Faridkot and interference by the Deputy commissioner, the School Education Department has agreed to defer its decision of closing the school. But the move has failed to pacify the protesting parents.

On October 23, the Director General of School Education (DGSE) had issued orders to close the government school, leaving all 600 students and 22 teachers in the school in lurch. While there were orders to shift the students to other government schools, the services of the teachers were ended. The department ordered the closure of the school following financial irregularities at the level of private management of the school. Like 24 other adarsh schools in the state, Malla school is also being run under the PPP mode by the Punjab Education Department Board (PEDB), a wing of the School Education Department. Education is provided free of cost to students and the department provides up to Rs 1,852 for a student per month to the private management

While the teachers are opposing the DGSE’s order to end their services, about 600 students from 40 adjoining villages were strongly opposing the closure of their school in the mid of the academic session. The DGSE had ordered to shift the students of this English medium, CBSE-pattern school to government schools in the area. Other than changing the school in the mid of an academic session, changing teachers was also detrimental to thei interests of students, said teachers of the school.

After protests, the DGSE has now issued orders to postpone closure till March 31, 2020. However, the department has denied giving any relief to the teachers. While all teaching and non-teaching staff in the school has been asked to report back to the private management for their services, the DGSE has asked the District Education Officer (DEO) to depute five volunteers and 8 ETT teachers as temporary arrangement to teach students in the school.

Gurpreet singh, father of a student, said it an insult to end services of the teachers who were already working at a salary of just Rs 7,000 to Rs 8,000 per month. The move of the department was not practical and it was a mere eyewash, said Gurpreet. The parents said they had decided to continue their protest.