Delhi Lieutenant Governor(LG)Vinai Kumar Saxena has expressed serious and deep concern over the neglect towards Punjabi, one of the official languages of Delhi, in government schools in the capital, Raj Niwas said on Tuesday.  Critical concerns, including a severe shortage of Punjabi teachers in both, Delhi government and MCD schools, and decreasing funding have been raised before the LG by various stakeholders in the past, officials said.

Giving details, they said disposing a file with regards to a status report submitted by the Punjabi Academy, GNCTD, on the condition of Punjabi Language, Saxena underlined many a shortcomings and asked for a thorough re-examination.

The report was put up by the Punjabi Academy, Department of Art, Culture and Language, GNCTD, after a representation was made by the Delhi Sikh Gurudwara Management Committee (DSGMC) to the LG and had subsequently been forwarded by the LG Secretariat to ACL.

Observing that the report submitted by the Department is incomplete, inconclusive and does not reflect the whole picture with respect to the concerns raised by DSGMC, Saxena has ordered a thorough investigation into the matter, directing the Chief Secretary, to examine the issue with all stakeholders.

The LG also observed that the ACL Department in the first instance should have sought the details from these agencies on current vacancy position of Punjabi teachers and efforts made to address the deficiencies, if any.

While 752 posts of TGT Punjabi and 4 posts of PGT Punjabi are lying vacant in Schools of Education Department, GNCTD, Punjabi Academy could spend only Rs. 19.99 Cr against the paltry Rs. 27.28 Cr allocated to it during FY 2023-24.

There has been a reduction of 17% in the budget allocation for the Punjabi Academy in the current fiscal.  Similarly, large number of positions of Punjabi Teachers in MCD schools also remain vacant. 

This acute teacher crisis has directly impacted the quality of Punjabi language education, hindering the development of linguistic skills and cultural understanding among students.

Saxena also observed that there is lack of seriousness in the overall efforts on the part of authorities concerned towards attaining the aims and objectives with which the Punjabi Academy was established, adversely affecting the promotion, propagation and development of Punjabi Language, the second official language as per the Delhi Official Language Act, 2000 and its Literature and Culture in Delhi.

Saxena noted that gap areas may be identified and necessary corrective measures may be undertaken in a time bound manner, in terms of extant law and guidelines, for ensuring fulfilment of statutory responsibilities towards the Punjabi Language, literature and culture in Delhi.