Educators in Jalandhar voiced concern over the government’s decision to cancel the recruitment process for 55 backlog lecturer posts under the School Education Department, calling the move a major setback for unemployed teaching aspirants. The posts, advertised in 2021 under the Ghar Ghar Rozgar Yojana for the border area, included lecturer posts in biology, chemistry, commerce, economics, geography, Hindi, English, physics and mathematics.
A teacher union said several candidates had been waiting for the recruitment process to conclude for nearly five years and had invested significant time and resources in preparation. They alleged that cancelling the process at this stage has created uncertainty among qualified candidates and raised questions over the government’s recruitment policies.
The Education Recruitment Directorate, Punjab, issued a public notice on May 14, stating that the advertisement issued on August 24, 2021, along with a subsequent public notice increasing the number of posts from 32 to 55, had been withdrawn following directions from the Directorate of School Education (Secondary), Punjab.
Vikramdev Singh, state president of the Democratic Teachers Front, said, “This is not the first time when the AAP-led state government has withdrawn teachers’ vacancies. Earlier also, vacancies for nearly 350 teachers have rolled back.
He further noted that government schools across Punjab are grappling with a severe staff shortage, yet no fresh vacancies have been advertised. He added that the posts now being withdrawn were originally announced during the previous government’s tenure.
Notably, around 40 per cent of students are enrolled in Classes VIII and XII, which are meant to be taught by the lecturer cadre. However, these classes are currently being handled by master cadre teachers. The government, they said, has been relying only on promotions to fill lecturer posts. As per rules, 75 per cent of these posts should be filled through promotions and the remaining 25 per cent through direct recruitment, but not a single recruitment has been made since the present government came to power.
Karnail Singh Phillaur, district president of the Government Teachers Union, said, “The government keeps withdrawing the vacancies without releasing any new one. As much as 70 per cent posts of principal are vacant where there is a huge shortage of headmasters, ETT, master and lecture cadres teachers. Additionally, nearly 4,500 teachers across Punjab are retiring every year with no new recruitment in place."