‘Over 5,000 master cadre teachers to be regularised in Feb’

Punjab education minister OP Soni said on Sunday that the state government will regularise 5,178 teachers with full pay scale next month.

Appointed under the master cadre, the 5,178 teachers, who have been providing their services in government schools across Punjab since 2014, were to be given a meagre salary of ₹6,000 per month with an annual increment of ₹500.

The appointment letter stated that these teachers will be regularised with full pay scale in November 2017, but to no avail.

Talking to media here, Soni said the state government has been making efforts to uplift educational standards in the state.

“To achieve this goal, the regularisation of teachers is in process so that they can teach students sincerely,” he said.

He said “sikhya providers” and “volunteer teachers” will get a pay hike of ₹1,500 from next month.

The minister said those teachers who were suspended during their protests have been reinstated and the teachers who were temporarily sent to distant places had been ordered to join at their parent stations.

› Sikhya providers and volunteer teachers will get a pay hike of ₹1,500 from next month.

The previous orders have been cancelled, he said.

Soni said teachers taking part in protests in future will not be spared and strict action would be taken against them.

Teachers who work with dedication will be honoured on the Republic Day eve, he said.

These teachers will also be made to interact and receive appreciation from the chief minister, he added.

The minister said as the annual examinations are approaching, teachers should make efforts to guide the students and help them in revising their chapters.

OP SONI, education minister