With the Punjab Government once again putting off the final decision on the issue of teachers’ regularisation, the protesting teachers on Wednesday expressed displeasure with the government for “going back” on its promises.
The teachers lashed out at the State Government for not fulfilling its promise of giving full pay scale from February and not addressing the issues of those involved with the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) and the Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA).
The cabinet, in its meeting chaired by the Capt Amarinder Singh, has decided to regularise the services of 5,178 teachers with full pay scale from October 1, 2019. Of the 5,178 teachers, 5,078 were recruited in the master's cadre and 100 as classical and vernacular teachers by the education department in 2014, 2015 and 2016.
Currently getting Rs 7,500 monthly, the teachers’ salary would be now fixed at minimum of grade pay of Rs 15,300 per month till the time they are given full scale.
The teachers, protesting under the banner of Adhyapak Sangharsh Committee, said that they were upset that the Cabinet approved giving full pay scale to 5,178 teachers from October instead of February.
“We were promised that the full pay scale will be given with effect from February this year. But the government is now saying that the full pay scale will be given from October,” said a committee member Bikramjit Singh Kaddon.
The teachers said that during their meeting with four ministers — Education Minister OP Soni, Finance Minister Manpreet Badal, Health Minister Brahm Mohindra and Cooperation and Jails Minister Sukhjinder Randhawa, they were assured that the issue of pay protection of 8,886 teachers of Adarsh schools, SSA and RMSA would also be addressed in the Cabinet meeting.
“But this issue will now be looked into by a committee, along with other issues,” said Kaddon. The Government has formed an eight-member committee of teachers' union leaders and senior officers to look into other demands of the teachers which would submit its report to the cabinet sub-committee within three months.