Government schools across Ludhiana were hit by staff shortages on Thursday as teachers took mass leave to participate in the ‘mahabandh’ called by employee and pensioner organisations over their long-pending demands. With no government holiday declared, several schools had only a few teachers available to manage students and academic work.
Similar disruption was reported in Jagraon and Sidhwan Bet, where teachers and employees joined the rally along with pensioners. Student attendance at several schools was around 50-60%, he added. The protesters demanded restoration of the Old Pension Scheme, release of 18% pending DA, Sixth Pay Commission arrears and the 2.59 multiplication factor for pensioners. They also sought restoration of 37 allowances, revival of the ACP scheme, regularisation of contractual employees and a ₹ 26,000 minimum wage for sanitation workers, chowkidars and mid-day meal workers.
Charanjeet Kaur Ahuja, principal of Government Senior Secondary School, Cemetery Road, said the second shift was affected the most due to teacher absenteeism.
Jagjit Singh Mann, district president of the Government Teachers’ Union, said the impact was particularly visible in primary schools. At his school in Mangli Uchi, only one of four teachers was present, he said, adding that the situation was akin to that of a single-teacher school. Teacher and roadways pensioner leaders also visited schools that had opened in the morning and persuaded staff to join the protest, according to union members.
