Of 1,927 posts of principal in govt schools, 856 vacant

Against the sanctioned strength of 1,927 posts of principal in government senior secondary schools, around 856 are vacant.

The Democratic Teachers’ Union, which procured data through an RTI, said lecturers waiting for promotions felt that campaigns like “Sikhya Kranti” were of little use as several institutes were being run without principals.

Senior lecturers, awaiting promotions, said there’s no clarity on the issue so far.

Education Minister Harjot Bains said in 2018, the Congress government had put a clause that 75 per cent principals in senior secondary schools would be recruited directly, while 25 per cent would be the departmental promotees.

“We are hopeful that the issue will be resolved soon. By the end of this month, hundreds of promotions will be done,” Bains maintained.

Senior lecturer Satvir Singh, whose retirement is due in a few months, said, “Even after doing service for three decades, I have not been able to become a principal.”

He said many lecturers had either retired or were on the verge of retirement sans promotion.

Similarly, Bhupinder Singh Samra said the Education Department had stated in April that a notification would be issued before June 30 related to promotions, but to no avail.

Senior lecturer Maninder Kaur said we had been left in the lurch. “In a meeting held recently in Ludhiana, we decided to launch agitation if the state government fails to promote the lecturers,” she said.

Punjab