Ludhiana: Govt-aided school teachers in Punjab face financial crisis
According to the Directorate of Public Instructions (DPI) office, the issue stems from discrepancies between the claims submitted by school managements and the audit reports
Nearly 1,400 teachers working in government-aided schools across Punjab, including 215 in Ludhiana, have not received their salaries for the past six months.
According to the Directorate of Public Instructions (DPI) office, the issue stems from discrepancies between the claims submitted by school managements and the audit reports. Despite repeated protests and meetings with education authorities, the stalemate over grants continues, leaving teachers in financial distress.
Gurmeet Singh Madnipur, state president of the Aided Schools Union, said teachers from across the state staged a protest outside the office of Directorate of Public Instructions (DPI) (secondary education) in Mohali. “We have had multiple meetings scheduled with the director of secondary education and the education secretary, but most of them were postponed, and no resolution has come so far,” he said.
Teachers said the situation has pushed them to the brink. “Since 95% of our salary grant comes from the government and only 5% from the school management, we are left helpless. Many of us have taken loans to survive and are unable to pay EMIs. Even medical expenses have become unaffordable,” Madnipur added.
According to the DPI Office, a directive has instructed district education officers (DEOs) to ensure that claims reflect income-expenditure surplus deductions before submission.
Sewa Singh Chawla, president of the Management Association of Government-Aided Schools, countered this, saying, “This is the first time the government has asked us to deduct the surplus amount. That money is meant for school infrastructure, which management handles entirely. Now, audit teams have also been directed to visit schools.”
The crisis has spread to government-aided colleges as well, where teachers too have not been paid for six months due to delays in grant release by the higher education department. As per the DPI (higher education), the delay in verifying the claims submitted by the aided colleges is due to lack of section officers. Now faculty members are planning to hold campus rallies on September 16 to press their demands.
When contacted, Anindita Mitra, administrative secretary of school education, said, “None of the aided schools have submitted the required balance sheet. The finance department has made this mandatory, and we cannot go beyond the policy, and only after a proper balance sheet submission, the grants could be released.”
