After teachers’ protest, Adarsh School sealed

Balwant Garg

Tribune News Service

Faridkot, May 24

The district administration has sealed Government Adarsh School at Pacca village of Faridkot and seized school records after a protest by the teachers and villagers today.

The protest started after the private management of the school terminated the services of eight teachers, four peons and a sweeper.

Some civil and police officers reached the village to control the situation, but as the management of the school had already left, the Faridkot naib tehsildar sealed the school and took all records in his possession. Those have been handed over to Deputy commissioner, Faridkot, said naib tehsildar Harkirat Singh.

The controversy at Pacca started after the four peons and sweeper made a complaint to the Faridkot police that the school management had paid them Rs4,000 as salary and forced them to sign on a receipt of Rs 6,600.

Running under PPP mode, three Government Adarsh Schools in Faridkot, including the school at Pacca, are in the thick of a row for the past year after the change of the private management of these schools. As much as 70 per cent of the salary of school staff is paid by the state government and the remaining is contributed by the private management.

In Pacca, the management wanted to remove some of the old staff, calling them surplus. These employees are opposing their removal. They allege that they were removed for exposing corruption.

Narinder Singh Randhwan, chairman of Ludhiana-based Sukhsagar Avenue Welfare Association which runs the Pacca school, denied the charges. He was earlier arrested on charges of embezzlement of funds meant for employees' pay, sexual harassment of teachers and exploiting students by engaging them in labour work.

Teachers of Adarsh School at Mallan village have been on a dharna in front of the DC’s office since Tuesday evening. They are opposing the new management for its anti-teacher decisions.

The teachers of the third Adarsh School at Middumann are also on an agitation. They are demanding penal action against the school management of the school for showing ‘ghost students’on their rolls to acquire more funds from the government.