Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Friday gave a major relief to 12,710 contractual teachers in the Education department by handing over regularisation letters to them thereby fulfilling a major promise with the teaching fraternity. In a function on Friday, the Chief Minister said that after assuming the charge of office he had laid expedited the regularisation of these teachers by “overcoming all the legal and administrative hiccups”.
CM Mann said that the motive was to ensure the secure future of teachers as he firmly believes that if the future of teachers is protected then only they can transform the destiny of the students. He said that the state government had made concerted efforts due to which this historic day is being witnessed today. The Chief Minister said that the problem of every employee will be solved for which the state government is already making “all-out efforts”.
Mann said that it was unfortunate that these teachers had to work on meagre salaries and had to protest for their lawful rights due to the “apathy” of successive governments. He also added that even the workers under MGNREGA used to get more salaries than the teachers due to which he was peeved as it was an atrocity on the nation builders. The Chief Minister said that this is not a favour on anyone but it is his bounden duty to serve the state and the masses. Bhagwant Mann said that he has been blessed that the people of the state have reposed so much trust in him adding that he will make every effort to uphold this faith. Mann said every year a 5 percent increment will be given to these teachers along with other benefits including holidays.
In another historic initiative, the CM said the state government has decided that the teachers will only render service related to teaching work and no other non-teaching duty will be assigned to them. The Chief Minister said that the Union government had demanded 66,000 teachers for conducting the census in the state but he has clearly refused and asked the Centre to enrol unemployed youth for this purpose.
The Chief Minister further said that the state government will soon launch a bus service for the girl students studying in the government schools adding that the pilot project will be launched for 20,000 students including 12,000 girls and 8,000 boys.
