The government should give priority to school education and take remedial steps to fill in vacancies, disburse salaries, provide the necessary physical infrastructure and motivate all the human components of school education. The state is duty-bound to provide quality education to students.

SUDESH KUMAR SHARMA, Kapurthala

III

The right to education seems to be a farce in Punjab. How can we expect a school to function without a head? If 90 per cent of senior secondary schools are without a regular principal, it shows the government’s attitude towards education. Since the Punjab and Haryana High Court has taken up the issue as a PIL, the government has to act fast.

DEVINDER SINGH, Bathinda

IV

The Tribune aptly highlighted the government’s callous attitude. No institute can function properly without a head and it applies to the senior secondary schools as well. It is time Punjab’s school education department applied corrective measures.

HARPAL SINGH GILL, Nabha

V

A prosperous state like Punjab spends just 2 per cent on education, the lowest in the country. No wonder, the government is not bothered to provide quality education to poor students. They have no means to realise their right to quality education whereas the well-to-do send their children to costly English-medium schools. This low priority to education will jeopardise the state’s status in the long run.

LAJPAT RAI GARG, Panchkula

VI

After successive governments’ failure to appoint heads of schools, the common man can now expect the High Court to do justice. The purpose of right to education under Article 21 of the Constitution will be defeated if there schools are headless.

We are aware of the mess in our school education. The High Court should direct the state government to act fast and stop further deterioration.

VARINDER SHARMA, Amritsar

VII

Sadly, despite a huge budget and manpower, the output in state-run schools is negligible. Interestingly, most teachers of government schools admit their wards in private schools, thus confirming the rot in their institutions. While incompetent teachers fail to survive in the private sector, those in government schools continue enjoying all the privileges of the job. This must stop.

ANUP K. GAKKHAR, Haridwar

VIII

Can we think of a state without a Chief Minister or a district without a Deputy Commissioner or a sub-division without an SDM? Then, how does the government think that the schools can function effectively without principals? No justification would suffice. Only apt action is warranted.

DESH BIR, Hoshiarpur

IX

If so many senior secondary schools are without principal for over a decade, how can the Punjab government expect the level of education to improve? Consequently, private schools are bound to flourish and the middle and lower strata of society is either deprived of low-cost education provided by the government or forced to dish out hefty fee to educate their wards in private schools.

TRISHLA GARG, Panchkula