Teachers storm DPI office, block exits

Hundreds of protesters under the banner of the 5994 Unemployed Teachers’ Union and the 2364 Union of ETT Cadre stormed into the Director Public Instructions (Elementary Education) office on the sixth floor of the PSEB building this afternoon at around 3 pm and laid siege till night. Raising slogans against the Punjab Government and education minister, the protesters staged a sit-in protest in the office corridors and blocked the entry and exit of staff on the sixth floor. At 8.30pm, both the protesters and the staff were in a deadlock inside the office. Senior police officials reached the spot and managed the situation.

“After yesterday’s protest outside the office, we were called to the Chandigarh office at 1 pm, but nobody met us there till 3 pm, despite having given their word yesterday. So we decided to stage a sit-in inside the DPI’s office in Mohali,” said Sukhjit Singh Mattu, a representative of the union, adding that they had appeared in the test twice and the government was still delaying in giving them their joining letters.

The protesters have been demanding their joining letters for three months after having cleared the written exam in January-February.

At 10 am yesterday, a gathering was held at Gurdwara Sri Amb Sahib, after which a massive protest rally, accompanied by heavy police force, moved towards the DPI office, where they were stopped by the anti-riot police. The situation became tense when the protesters and police officials were involved in a bout of pushing and shoving each other outside the gate of the office.