Channi tosses coin to decide lecturers’ posting
CHANDIGARH:PUNJAB technical education minister Charanjit Singh Channi flipped a coin to resolve a stalemate between two lecturers for state-run institutions when both new recruits wanted to be posted in a particular place that had a single vacancy.
The minister turned to the time-tested heads-or-tails on Monday when he was assigning place of work of 37 new lecturers in education institutions, said a teacher who does not want to be named. Its video went viral on Tuesday.
Political leaders were allegedly pushing the case of some lecturers to get posting of choice and, to counter that, Channi invited the recruits and asked for preferences.
The teacher who was present at the meeting said: “Channi told them he would send them to their place of choice, but under one condition. He said those who won’t deliver will be transferred to far-flung areas.” The lecturers agreed and it was all smooth for 35 posts; but he was stuck when two recruits refused to budge from their choice of Bareta in Mansa.
Channi asked them to go out of his office for a while and settle the deadlock between themselves. “They returned and asked him to take a call. So he made a final decision by a toss,” the teacher said.
The minister, in a press release, claimed that the impasse was decided by tossing a coin “based on a proposition made by the two contenders themselves”.
He also hailed the process as the “first instance in the history of the technical education department” when lecturers were allotted stations “in a transparent manner, as per their choice”.
He said it was “very unfortunate” that instead of highlighting the welcome step taken by his department, a section of media “ignored the facts and presented baseless sensational news”.
Channi said government employees can be posted anywhere without anyone’s consent, but he opted for “transparency”.