Garhshankar, November 13: The Democratic Teachers Front Punjab (DTF) has mobilized various schools to protest against the state government's failure to resolve teacher issues; the implementation of the new education policy that is being imposed on the people; and the teachers being continuously involved in non-academic work; preparations and mobilization for the state-level protest rally being held at Chabbewal on November 16.
At this time, the DTF organization's District President Sukhdev Dancewal and State Joint Secretary Mukesh Kumar expressed deep concern over the fact that the Education Department has been keeping school teachers involved with unnecessary projects since the beginning of this session; and now in the name of the National Evaluation Survey (CEP), the new education policy is being implemented indirectly by keeping students and teachers away from the prescribed syllabus; and in the name of this survey, the bureaucracy is creating an atmosphere of fear among students and teachers by instigating them in schools.
Under this policy, the policy of merging schools with a small number of students into big schools is being moved. Thousands of posts are lying vacant in the schools of the Punjab government, which claims to be an education revolution, due to which the education of the students is being harmed. The unemployed who have been selected in 5994 and 2364 recruitments are struggling to fill these posts, while the state government is on the path of closing the schools by implementing the new education policy of the central government. The computer teachers who have been waiting for the gift of Diwali for two years and have been sitting in Sangrur for the last several days are not being heard.
The promotions made by the Punjab Education Department have been limited to a few schools, forcing the teachers to give up their promotions. DTF leaders said that the silence of the Punjab Chief Minister and Education Minister on teacher issues proves that they have no sympathy for the teachers of Punjab and no policy for the education of the children of the common people of Punjab.
While the teachers and other employees of Punjab are demanding the restoration of the old pension scheme and the arrears of the Pay Commission; at the same time, they are feeling very backward compared to the central employees by getting 15 percent less dearness allowance than the central employees, but the Punjab government wants to put these demands in the cold pocket.
DTF Punjab leaders Satpal Kler and Hans Raj Garhshankar have called on the teachers to participate fully in the state-level protest rally being held at Chabbewal on November 16 against the Punjab government's neglect of teachers, children's education and financial issues of the employees.