Posted as language officers, Punjab teachers fume

Tribune News Service

Faridkot, November 21

The state government’s move of deputing language officers in 15 districts has deprived about 2,000 school students of their Punjabi language teachers.

In its move to implement the State Language Act, the state government last week had announced to depute 15 district language officers (DLOs). However, instead of making new recruitment, the Higher Education and Languages Department has chosen 15 Punjabi teachers from 10 districts and issued orders to post them as DLOs on deputation. Among these 15 teachers, ordered to be posted on deputation as DLOs, three are from Faridkot, two from Fazilka, Bathinda, and Patiala (each), and one each from Mansa, Kapurthala, Moga, Ferozepur, Mohali and Ludhiana districts.

Illogical move

At a time when the annual examinations are approaching, depriving students of their subject teacher seems to be illogical. The government could have made direct recruitment on these posts. — Surinder Kumar Puari, Head, Government school teachers’ union

While the School Education Department has issued directions to the District Education Officers (DEOs) to relieve these teachers from their present post of lecturers in the Government Senior Secondary Schools for their posting as DLOs, some of these teachers are reluctant to join at faraway places.

“At a time when the annual examinations are approaching, depriving students of their subject teacher seems to be illogical. It would have been better if the government made direct recruitment on these posts or made some alternative arrangement in case of deputation of teachers,” said Surinder Kumar Puari, state president, Government School Teachers’ Union, Punjab.

The DLO posts had been lying vacant for the past about 25 years. The last recruitment was carried out in 1996. Since then, the vacancies kept cropping up upon retirements but were not filled in the department that came into existence on January 1, 1948.

In 2008, the Punjab Government had also enacted the Punjabi Language Act to ensure the mandatory teaching of Punjabi from Class 1 onwards in all schools of the state. The Language Department was established to promote Punjabi in the state to ensure all official works were done in Punjabi in all government offices.