Schoolteachers take mass leave

Our Correspondent

Mandi Ahmedgarh,December 17

Teaching at private aided schools of the region will be hit on Thursday with activists of the Punjab State Aided School Teachers Union taking mass casual leave to participate in a state-level rally to be held at Sunam tomorrow.

The venue has been chosen as it is the assembly segment of Finance Minister Parminder Singh Dhindsa.

Office-bearers of the union, led by district president Amrit Pal, said they had submitted their applications for casual leave with permission to leave the station on Thursday.

Activists from MGMN Senior Secondary School, Jain Muni KundanKanya Mahavidyalaya, Guru Nanak Kanya Mahavidyalaya, Guru Hargobind Khalsa Senior Secondary School and Bimal Muni Jain Senior Secondary School will be leaving for Sunam tomorrow.

Accusing successive governments of ignoring their demands pending for a long time, the activists alleged the families of 4,000 teachers working at 484 private aided schools had been suffering due to unconcern of the Education Department towards regular payment of allowances.

Maintaining that they had not been paid salaries after September, they said even the management committees of their schools had not bothered about coming to their rescue. Though the government have announced the release of 30 per cent instalment of the arrears, the treasury offices have shown their inability to make payments.

Release of grade revision letter in connection with laboratory assistants, Class IV employees and lecturers, payment of gratuity to retired employees and implementation of the recommendations of the 5th Pay Commission with regard to medical allowance and house rent are their main demands. The activists said the government was not providing them facilities on a par with their government counterparts.

Acknowledging that the activists of the union have submitted applications for casual leave on Thursday, principle Pardeep Sharda said it was almost impossible to undertake normal studies without teachers.