Nawanshahr, July 21
The Democratic Teachers Front will hold district-level dharnas in the state on August 4 and 5 in protest against the stepmotherly treatment being meted out to the master cadre serving in the government schools in granting them pay scales recommended by the Pay Commission, giving promotions as lecturers and headmasters and imposing uniformity in teaching methodology.

Bhupinder Singh Warraich, state president, Democratic Teachers Front (DTF) , said the Fifth Pay Commission, Punjab, had recommended special pay scales for cops, nurses and teachers. Though the state government was going to implement the recommendations of the Fifth Pay Commission for the police and health departments from September this year, but the same benefits were being denied to the Education Department.

Similarly, as per the norms of the state Education Department, while 25 per cent of the posts of headmaster and lecturer were to be filled through direct recruitment, 75 per cent of the posts lying vacant were to be filled through departmental promotions. But despite assurances by the Education Minister, the initiation of the process of promotions as headmasters and lecturers was lying pending.

“Besides causing professional dissatisfaction among the teachers who have been awaiting promotions for the past many years, it has also been hitting the students hard as though the classes in science, commerce and arts faculties have started in a number of schools, but there are virtually no lecturer to teach them,” lamented Warraich.

DTF president criticised the state Education Department for causing undue harassment to the teachers aspiring for promotions by demanding cases from them every now and then. Even, the Education Department had been ignoring the directions of the Punjab and Haryana High Court.

“While deciding the civil writ petition titled as Sa Pal v/s Punjab Government on May 21, 2009, the court had directed the state Education Department not to demand any application, ACRs, etc from the teachers, but the eligible teachers should be granted promotions on the basis of seniority-cum-merit basis. The Principal Secretary, Education Department, has also issued directions to the officials concerned through a letter issued on August 4, 2010, but to no avail,” rued Warraich, adding that now the Education Department had again issued a circular demanding cases from the teachers for the purpose of granting them promotions as headmaster.

‘Besides, under the Parho Punjab project, the schoolteachers are being forced to adopt the teaching methodologies given in the teaching modules,” said Warraich, adding that there could not be any infallible and uniform method of teaching. “A teacher has to change the methodolgy of teaching as per the level of the students as well as the situation to make the teaching-learning process simple and effective,” said the DTF presidnt, while terming it as totally illogical, impracticable and a hurdle in the innovative attitude of the teachers. Moreover, monitoring system started to force the teachers to strictly abide by the teaching modules had been causing resentment among the teachers. While demanding scrapping of this policy, the state DTF president suggested that the funds being wasted on the publication of such modules should be utilised for making up the scarcity of staff in the schools.

Tarn Taran, July 21
Workers of the Cooperative Sugar Mills, Sheron, 7 km from here, in protest against the non-payment of their salaries for the last 37 months blocked road traffic by staging a dharna on the road in front of the mills.

The traffic on the National Highway No 15 remained disrupted from more than one and half hour, for which the administration had to make alternative arrangements.

Subash Chander Agnihotri, president of the Sugar Mills Employees Action Committee, while addressing the workers on the occasion condemned the state government for doing nothing for restarting the five sugar mills lying closed for the last more than 10 years.

Agnihotri also demanded the early release of their salaries for 37 months. He also demanded giving benefit of the VRS (voluntary retirement scheme) to all the closed sugar mills’ staff on a par with Jagraon Mills.

Amritsar, July 21
In order to provide world-class treatment facilities to cancer patients of the region, the government has handed over the reigns of the radiotherapy unit of Guru Nanak Dev Hospital (GNDH), being run under Government Medical College (GMC), Amritsar, to the Punjab Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) Society.

The government relinquished the existing radiotherapy unit at GMC to the PIMS Society, which has deposited about Rs 5.50 crore with the government and took over the unit in the presence of Dr Jai Kishan, Director, Research and Medical Education.

The decision in this regard had been taken during the governing body meeting of the PIMS Society under the chairmanship of Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal. This is one of the three projects sanctioned by the governing council. Other two projects include a cancer treatment centre at Guru Gobind Singh Medical College, Faridkot, and a state-of-the-art cancer diagnostic centre at Bathinda.

Confirming the development, Dr A.S. Padda, Director, PIMS Society, revealed that the step was taken only to develop the radiotherapy unit to provide world-class treatment to cancer patients. Under this Rs 40-crore project, the society would develop the unit by providing latest machinery and equipment, while it would be managed and operated either by Government Medical College or the government itself. He said a memorandum of understanding would also be signed with Government Medical College. The staff and teachers would be the same who were working at present in the unit.

Amritsar, July 21
The rural veterinary and medical officers, whose services were regularised by the state government, today held a demonstration at the Zila Parishad office against the dilly-dallying attitude of the government on withdrawing the notification regarding the implementation of the amended Punjab Civil Services Act on them.

The regular veterinary and medical officers had earlier withdrew their agitation after an assurance given by Panchayat Minister Ranjit Singh Brahmpura on the rollback of the government notification on the implementation of the new service Act on them.

Dr Gagandeep Singh Dhillon, press secretary, Rural Veterinary Officers Association, Punjab, pointed out that they had been working in the rural veterinary hospitals and dispensaries for the last five years. The Punjab Government had decided to regularise their jobs from April 1, this year. However, due to its dilly-dallying attitude and bureaucratic hurdles, the government failed to issue appointment letters to them and later the Punjab Civil Services (Rationalisation of Certain Conditions of Service) Act-2011 came into force and applied to the new jobs.

Under this amended Act, they would be getting only basic pay for three years with no additional facilities and allowances. This had resulted in the lowering of the salary scales as compared to what they were getting during contractual services, he said.

“We took up the matter with the Panchayat and Rural Development Minister, who assured us of looking into the matter and removing the anomaly. However, till now he had done nothing in this direction and there is a great resentment among the newly regularised veterinary and medical officers, majority of whom have been working in the rural sector,” said Dr Dhillon.

Leaders of both the associations threatened that if the government failed to withdraw the notification of the implementation of amended Act, they would intensify their agitation and would hold indefinite protest dharna at Chandigarh.