600 posts of teacher vacant in govt primary schools in Ludhiana district

Over 600 posts of teacher were lying vacant in the government primary schools across Ludhiana district, sources in the Education Department have said.

They said there were about 100 primary schools in the district, which were being managed by only one teacher.

One of the teachers at Government Primary School in Hambran said she was the lone teacher in the village school. “There are about 35 students in my primary school for classes up to Grade V and I take care of each class and subject. Besides, the administrative work is also done by me as there is no other staff either. Had there been more staff members, we could attract more students from the nearby villages. I cannot manage the school affairs alone,” she rued.

At one of the government primary schools in Chahlan, there was again one teacher for a long time and that also on a temporary basis, while the services of another teacher from the village were hired as there was pressure to enroll more students.

The latest recruitment of 6,635 teachers in the state was done in July 2021 and Ludhiana district had also got teachers but after the transfer portal was opened recently, many teachers opted to go back to their parent districts as they fulfilled the conditions.

The president of Democratic Teachers Front Ludhiana Daljit Singh said, “There are many lone teachers from districts like Mansa, Ferozepur, Pathankot, who are performing duties in Ludhiana district, especially in Sidhwan Bet and Machhiwara areas and they want to go back as they fulfill the transfer conditions. But they are not being relieved because they are not getting the replacement.”

The Deputy District Education Officer (Elementary) Manoj Kumar, however, said that the department was managing the affairs well. “But ever since the portal of transfers was opened, teachers preferred to go back to the districts from where they came from and posts were going vacant,” he added.

“Still in many cases, we cannot relieve the teachers unless we get a replacement, especially in the schools, where there is a lone teacher. The teachers in the primary classes generally teach all the subjects,” the Deputy DEO said.