In a major bonanza for the 12,700 contractual teachers, whose service has been recently regularized by the State Government, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Tuesday announced up to three-time increase in their emoluments and other benefits of the government job after regularization of services.

Announcing this via a video message, the Chief Minister said that these teachers will be known as “Associate Teachers”, “Special Inclusive Teachers” and others, and “they will be governed by the ‘Policy for Welfare of Ad-hoc, Contractual, Temporary Teachers (Nation Builders) and other employees in School Education Department’”.

“Based on their educational qualifications and primary conditions for entry into services, their emoluments have been fixed up to the completion of 58 years in service. These teachers will be entitled for an annual increment of five per cent on their salaries every year,” said the Chief Minister.

Divulging more details, Mann said that BA-pass Education Provider (Associate Teachers), who were hitherto getting Rs 9500, will now get Rs 20,500 as emolument whereas such teachers with ETT and NTT qualification will get Rs 22,000 as compared to salary of Rs 10,250 at present.

Similarly, he said that such teachers with BA or MA BEd degrees, who are now getting Rs 11000 as salary, will now get emolument worth Rs 23500. IEV Volunteers, who are till now getting salary worth Rs 5500, will now get emolument of Rs 15,000, he added.

The Chief Minister further said that Education Volunteers who have been till yet getting salary of Rs 3500 will now get Rs 15,000 adding that EGS, EIE and STR teachers getting emolument worth Rs 6000 will now get Rs 18,000.

“This is a landmark decision of the State Government which will ensure the holistic development of these teachers. They have rendered service of more than 10 years in Education Department after which the State Government has regularized their services whereas the earlier governments had just done lip service on the issue,” he added.