The Ludhiana unit of the 1158 Assistant Professors and Librarians Front on Thursday staged a protest outside SCD Government College, demanding that the Punjab government enact a special law to safeguard the jobs of assistant professors and librarians appointed under the 1158 recruitment drive.
Event Context
The protesters said legal protection for their employment was essential to ensure stability in government colleges and safeguard the future of higher education in the state.
The protest was part of a statewide campaign to mobilise support for the Front’s proposed march to the Punjab legislative assembly on August 4.
Player Focus
Addressing the gathering, professor Paramjit Singh said the demand for job security was not merely an employees’ issue but one that directly affected the quality and continuity of higher education in Punjab. He urged the government to immediately introduce a special bill in the Punjab legislative assembly and pass an Act granting legal protection to assistant professors and librarians appointed under the 1158 recruitment process.
He also called upon chief minister Bhagwant Mann to issue a public statement assuring employees that their services would remain protected.
Professor Gurjant Singh sought the restoration of all regular leave benefits for the 1158 Assistant Professors and Librarians, alleging that employees had been unfairly deprived of benefits available to other regular staff members. Denying them these rights, he said, amounted to serious injustice.
Raising another demand, Jaspreet Singh urged the government to reopen the transfer portal so that assistant professors and librarians serving at far-off stations could seek postings closer to their homes. He further alleged that some college principals and administrations were treating employees recruited under the 1158 drive in a discriminatory manner and demanded immediate intervention by the government to end such practices.
Professor Ashmani Singla appealed to all 1158 Assistant Professors, Librarians and other stakeholders associated with higher education across Punjab to participate in large numbers in the August 4 march to the Punjab legislative assembly.
The teachers warned that if its demands were not addressed at the earliest, it would further intensify its agitation across the state in the coming weeks.
