Out of 1,927 sanctioned posts of principals in ਸਰਕਾਰ senior secondary schools in ਪੰਜਾਬ, about 856 are still vacant.
The Democratic Teachers’ Union got this information through an RTI and said that teachers waiting for promotions feel discouraged. They believe campaigns like “Sikhya Kranti” are not helping when so many schools are running without principals.
Many senior lecturers, who have been waiting for years to be promoted, say they are still unclear about when the issue will be resolved.
Education ਮੰਤਰੀ Harjot Bains said that in 2018, the Congress ਸਰਕਾਰ had made a rule that 75% of principal posts would be filled directly and only 25% through promotions. He added that by the end of this month, hundreds of promotions would take place.
Satvir Singh, a senior lecturer who is retiring soon, said, “After serving for over 30 years, I still haven’t become a principal.” He said many teachers had already retired or were about to retire without ever getting promoted.
Another lecturer, Bhupinder Singh Samra, mentioned that the Education Department had promised to issue a promotion notification by June 30, but it hasn’t happened yet.
Maninder Kaur, another senior lecturer, said they feel abandoned by the ਸਰਕਾਰ. She also shared that during a recent meeting in Ludhiana, the lecturers decided to start a protest if the ਸਰਕਾਰ doesn’t act soon.
